Mammillothalamic tract

Mammillothalamic tract
Details
Identifiers
Latinfasciculus mammillothalamicus
TA98A14.1.08.671
A14.1.08.954
TA25757
FMA83849
Anatomical terminology

The mammillothalamic tract (also mammillary fasciculus,[1] mammillothalamic fasciculus, thalamomammillary fasciculus, bundle of Vicq d'Azyr) is an efferent pathway of the mammillary body which projects to the anterior nuclei of the thalamus. It consists of heavily myelinated fibres.[1] It is part of a brain circuit involved in spatial memory.[2][3]

It arises from (the medial and lateral nuclei of) the mammillary body and from fibers that are directly continued from the fornix.[2][3] It connects the mammillary body to the dorsal tegmental nuclei, the ventral tegmental nuclei, and the anterior thalamic nuclei.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ a b Patestas, Maria A.; Gartner, Leslie P. (2016). A Textbook of Neuroanatomy (2nd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 434. ISBN 978-1-118-67746-9.
  2. ^ a b c Dillingham, C. M; Frizzati, A; Nelson, A. J; Vann, S. D (2015). "How do mammillary body inputs contribute to anterior thalamic function?". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 54: 108–119. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.07.025. PMC 4462591. PMID 25107491.
  3. ^ a b c Aggleton, J. P; O'Mara, S. M; Vann, S. D; Wright, N. F; Tsanov, M; Erichsen, J. T (2010). "Hippocampal–anterior thalamic pathways for memory: Uncovering a network of direct and indirect actions". European Journal of Neuroscience. 31 (12): 2292–2307. doi:10.1111/j.1460-9568.2010.07251.x. PMC 2936113. PMID 20550571.
  4. ^ Haines DE (2003). Neuroanatomy: Atlas of Structures, Sections, and Systems, 6th ed (page 148). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 978-0781746779.