Prethalamus

Prethalamus

The prethalamus (formerly described as "ventral thalamus") or subthalamus is part of the diencephalon and therefore part of the brain.

Developmental biologist prefer the term prethalamus, as it can be genetically defined (Puelles and Rubenstein, 2003), whereas (human) anatomists often use the expression subthalamus.

The prethalamus is part of the mid-diencephalic territory (MDT) containing also the zona limitans intrathalamica (ZLI), and the thalamus. Caudally, the prethalamus is separated from the thalamus by the ZLI acting as lineage restriction boundary. The pro-neural gene Dlx2 serves a typical marker of the prethalamus. Typical nuclei of the prethalamus are the zona incerta, thalamic reticular nucleus, and the fields of Forel.

The prethalamus is patterned by Sonic hedgehog signalling from the ZLI. Anatomically, it develops efferent (output) connections to the striatum (caudate nucleus and putamen) in the telencephalon, to the thalamus (medial and lateral nuclear groups) in the diencephalon, and to the red nucleus and substantia nigra in the mesencephalon. It receives afferent (input) connections from the substantia nigra and striatum.


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  • Thalamus — Infobox Brain Name = Thalamus Latin = thalamus dorsalis GraySubject = 189 GrayPage = 808 Caption = MRI cross section of human brain, with thalamus marked. Caption2 = Scheme showing the course of the fibers of the lemniscus; medial lemniscus in… …   Wikipedia

  • Zona limitans intrathalamica — The zona limitans intrathalamica (ZLI) is a transverse boundary located between the prethalamus (previously also known as ventral thalamus) and the functional distinct thalamus (dorsal thalamus. [cite journal first=H last= Kuhlenbeck year=1937… …   Wikipedia

  • Diencephalon — Brain: Diencephalon Diagram depicting the main subdivisions of the embryonic vertebrate brain. These regions will later differentiate into forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain structures …   Wikipedia

  • Subthalamus — Infobox Brain Name = PAGENAME Latin = GraySubject = GrayPage = Caption = Coronal slices of human brain showing the basal ganglia, subthalamic nucleus (STN) and substantia nigra (SN). STN is in subthalamus; SN is not. Caption2 = IsPartOf =… …   Wikipedia

  • Prosencephalon — Infobox Brain Name = PAGENAME Latin = GraySubject = GrayPage = Caption = Diagram depicting the main subdivisions of the embryonic vertebrate brain. These regions will later differentiate into forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain structures. Caption2 …   Wikipedia

  • Dlx (gene) — For other uses, see DLX (disambiguation). Dlx is a family of homeodomain transcription factors which are related to the Drosophila distal less (Dll) gene [1]. The family has been related to a number of developmental features. The family seems to… …   Wikipedia

  • diencephalon — noun The region of the human brain, specifically the human forebrain, that includes the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the epithalamus, the prethalamus or subthalamus, and the …   Wiktionary

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