Mediodorsal nucleus
Nucleus mediodorsalis thalami
- Latin synonym: Nucleus medialis dorsalis thalami
- Synonym: Medial dorsal nucleus
- Related terms: Medial dorsal nucleus; Dorsomedial nucleus
Definition
The mediodorsal nucleus (a.k.a. dorsomedial nucleus) is the major thalamic nucleus situated in the medial part of the thalamus. It serves as the main relay center for information traveling to the prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe. It also has reciprocal connections with the hypothalamic and other thalamic nuclei. Due to these connections, the mediodorsal nucleus is able to integrate a large variety of sensory information and relate it to one’s emotional and subjective states. In that context, the mediodorsal nucleus has been implicated in a wide range of physiological processes, including thermogenesis, stress response, pancreatic nerve activity, plasma glucose level regulation, food intake and circadian rhythm regulation.
References
Text written by Muhammad A. Javaid, MD, PhD © 2022 IMAIOS.
Snell, R.S. (2010). ‘Chapter 12: The Thalamus and its Connections’, in Clinical Neuroanatomy. (7th ed.) Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, pp. 372.
Lee, S., Bookout, A.L., Lee, C.E., Gautron, L., Harper, M.J., Elias, C.F., Lowell, B.B. and Elmquist, J.K. (2012). Laser‐capture microdissection and transcriptional profiling of the dorsomedial nucleus of the hypothalamus. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 520(16), pp.3617-3632. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.23116
