Ventral posterior nucleus

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Ventral posterior nucleus
ThalamicNuclei.svg
Thalmus.png
Thalamic nuclei
Details
Part of Thalamus
Identifiers
Latin Nucleus ventralis posterior
NeuroNames 343
NeuroLex ID birnlex_1116
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy

The ventral posterior nucleus is the somatosensory relay nucleus in thalamus of the brain. [1]

Contents

Input and output

The ventral posterior nucleus receives neuronal input from the medial lemniscus, spinothalamic tracts, and trigeminothalamic tract. It projects to the somatosensory cortex and the ascending reticuloactivation system.

Subdivisions

The ventral posterior nucleus is divided into:

Function

The ventral posterior nucleus has, by virtue of its afferent and efferent pathways, crucial relay and regulatory roles in touch, body position, pain, temperature, itch, taste, and arousal. Additionally, the VPN—and particularly the ventral intermediate nucleus of the VPN—have been implicated in the pathophysiology and modulation of oscillatory tremors as found in Parkinson's disease and essential tremor; accordingly, it is a target of deep brain stimulation in the treatment of such pathologies. [4] The posterior subthalamic area is suggested to be a better target than the VIM. [4]

Additional images

References

  1. Sheridan, Nicholas; Tadi, Prasanna (2023), "Neuroanatomy, Thalamic Nuclei", StatPearls, Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, PMID   31751098 , retrieved 2023-09-17
  2. Deiber, MP (1993). "Thalamic stimulation and suppression of parkinsonian tremor". Brain. 116 (1): 267–79. doi:10.1093/brain/116.1.267. PMID   8453462.
  3. Bertino, Salvatore; Basile, Gianpaolo Antonio; Bramanti, Alessia; Ciurleo, Rosella; Tisano, Adriana; Anastasi, Giuseppe Pio; Milardi, Dimetrio; Cacciola, Alberto (2021). "Ventral intermediate nucleus structural connectivity-derived segmentation: anatomical reliability and variability". NeuroImage. 243: 1–18. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118519 . PMID   34461233.
  4. 1 2 Neudorfer, C; Kultas-Ilinsky, K; Ilinsky, I; Paschen, S; Helmers, AK; Cosgrove, GR; Richardson, RM; Horn, A; Deuschl, G (April 2024). "The role of the motor thalamus in deep brain stimulation for essential tremor". Neurotherapeutics. 21 (3): e00313. doi:10.1016/j.neurot.2023.e00313. PMC   11103222 . PMID   38195310.