Unit 6: Tutoring Flashcards
Functions of the Thalamus
- Integration and relay of sensory information
- Integration and relay of motor control information from cerebellum and basal ganglia to the motor cortex
- Gaiting of the passage of sensory and motor info
- Transmit states of consciousness from brainstem to cortex
Reciprocal Connections Between Thalamus and Cortex
VA (thalamus-cortex connections)
Frontal Cortex
VL (thalamus-cortex connections)
Motor and Premotor Cortex
VPL & VML (thalamus-cortex connections)
Somatosensory Cortex*
MD &. Pulvinar (thalamus-cortex connections)
Parieto-Occipital Cortex
LGN (thalamus-cortex connections)
Visual Cortex
MGN (thalamus-cortex connections)
Auditory Cortex
Main Categories of Thalamic Nuclei
- Relay Nuclei
- Intralaminar Nuclei
- Reticular Nuclei
Relay Nuclei (Thalamic Nuclei)
- Specific relay nuclei: Project to primary sensory and motor areas (nuclei located mainly in the thalamus)
- Widely projecting (non-specific) nuclei: Project to large regions of association corticies involved in behavior orientation
Intralaminar Nuclei (Thalamic Nuclei)
- Lies within internal medullary lamina
- Main inputs and outputs with basal ganglia
- Alertness and consciousness
Reticular Nucleus (Thalamic Nuclei)
- Thin sheet lateral to thalamus and medial to internal capsule
- Does not project to cortex
- Inputs and outputs are within the thalamus
Main Nuclear Divisons of the Thalamus
Ascending Pathways Overview
- Posterior/Dorsal Column Medial Lemiscal: Facilulus Gracilis & Faciculus Cuneatus)
- Anterolateral System: Spinothalamic, Spinoreticular, & Spinomesencephalic Tract)
- Ventral & Dorsal Spinocerebellar Tract
- Cuneocerebellar
■ Spinothalamic (ALS)
-Identifies that there is pain (“I’m stepping on something sharp”)
-Located in Cortex
-A Pain (fast & acute)
● Location & intensity of pain/temperature (noxious stimuli)
Spinoreticular (ALS)
- Adds emotional/arousal component (“Ouch, that shit hurts”)
- Located in Pons
- C Pain (chronic & slow)
Spinomesencephalic (ALS)
- Identifies that pain is feeling better (pain modulation)
- Located in Midbrain
Sensory and Motor Spinal Cord Pathways