The anterior nucleus of the thalamus forms the rounded front end (anterior tubercle) of the thalamus. It is a key link in the Papez circuit, receiving the mammillothalamic tract from the mammillary bodies and projecting to the cingulate gyrus. It is closely involved in memory and spatial navigation.
| Location | Anterior pole of the thalamus, enclosed by the forked front end of the internal medullary lamina, just behind the interventricular foramen |
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| Parts |
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| Connections |
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| Blood Supply | Polar (tuberothalamic) artery from the posterior communicating artery |
Relays limbic information from the mammillary bodies and hippocampus to the cingulate cortex, supporting episodic memory and spatial orientation.
Infarction in the tuberothalamic artery territory damages the anterior nucleus and mammillothalamic tract, producing memory loss and personality change (thalamic amnesia). The anterior nucleus is an approved deep brain stimulation target for drug-resistant focal epilepsy. It is also affected in Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
Sudden loss of the ability to form new memories after a stroke of the anterior thalamus or the mammillothalamic tract.
Focal epilepsy not controlled by medicines may be treated with deep brain stimulation of the anterior nucleus to reduce seizure frequency.
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