What happens when there is damage to the thalamus?
While thalamus damage primarily causes sensory problems, it can also lead to behavioral and cognitive changes. For example, many patients with a thalamus injury have incorrect speech patterns and can struggle to find the right words. Others display apathy and memory problems.
What are non specific thalamic nuclei?
Nonspecific nuclei, which show broad and diffuse projections through the cerebral cortex, and thus may be involved in general functions such as consciousness and attention. These nuclei include the reticular nucleus, and intralaminar and midline nuclei.
What is thalamic infarct?
Thalamic infarcts refer to ischemic strokes which affect the subcortical grey matter complex of nuclei known as the thalamus.
What type of stroke is a thalamic stroke?
A thalamic stroke is a type of lacunar stroke, which refers to a stroke in a deep part of your brain. Thalamic strokes occur in your thalamus, a small but important part of your brain.
What causes a thalamic stroke?
Like other types of stroke, thalamic stroke can be caused by a blood clot blocking blood flow to the thalamus (ischemic). Or it can be caused by bleeding from a blood vessel in the thalamus (hemorrhagic).
How does the thalamus affect behavior?
While the thalamus is classically known for its roles as a sensory relay in visual, auditory, somatosensory, and gustatory systems, it also has significant roles in motor activity, emotion, memory, arousal, and other sensorimotor association functions.
What emotions does the thalamus control?
This is a small brain structure responsible for receiving sensory information. It relays it to the appropriate area of the brain for processing. When a triggering event occurs, the thalamus might send signals to the amygdala. The amygdala is responsible for processing strong emotions, such as fear, pleasure, or anger.
How many thalamic nuclei are there?
The thalamus can divide into approximately 60 regions called nuclei. [1] Each nucleus has unique pathways as inputs and various projections as outputs, most of which send information to the cerebral cortex.
What is a bilateral thalamic stroke?
Bilateral thalamic infarction is a rare cerebral vascular disease. The most common findings are acute impairment of consciousness, vertical gaze paresis, cognitive disturbances, and abnormal behavioral symptoms. In this paper, we report a case of bilateral thalamic infarction that resulted in abnormal behavior.
What causes thalamic infarct?
What causes thalamic stroke? Like other types of stroke, thalamic stroke can be caused by a blood clot blocking blood flow to the thalamus (ischemic). Or it can be caused by bleeding from a blood vessel in the thalamus (hemorrhagic).
How are the thalamic nuclei connected to the cerebral cortex?
Generally, the thalamic nuclei are reciprocally connected to the cerebral cortex, permitting subcortical neuronal activity to influence the cortex. The cortex, in turn, sends input back to the thalamus.
What is the centromedian nucleus of the thalamus?
Centromedian Nucleus of Thalamus. The centromedian nucleus of thalamus (CM) is postulated to be more tailored to treating generalized and frontal epilepsies rather than temporal lobe epilepsy. This is by virtue of its diffuse frontal connections.
What does the thalamus do in the brain?
Finally, the thalamus plays a role in regulating consciousness, sleep and alertness. This is due to the fact that the thalamic nuclei have strong reciprocal connections with the cerebral cortex, forming thalamo-cortico-thalamic circuits that are thought to be involved with consciousness.
What are the association nuclei of the cerebral cortex?
Association nuclei, which receive most of their information from the cerebral cortex itself, and then project back to the “association areas” in the cortex to regulate the integration and interpretation of the sensory information. These nuclei include the anterior nucleus, pulvinar, and dorsomedial nucleus.