How do mammillary body inputs contribute to anterior thalamic function?

Dillingham, Christopher Mark ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2315-6158, Frizzati, Aura ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7002-6180, Nelson, Andrew John Dudley ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5171-413X and Vann, Seralynne Denise ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6709-8773 2015. How do mammillary body inputs contribute to anterior thalamic function? Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 54 , pp. 108-119. 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.07.025

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Abstract

It has long been assumed that the main function of the mammillary bodies is to provide a relay for indirect hippocampal inputs to the anterior thalamic nuclei. Such models afford the mammillary bodies no independent role in memory and overlook the importance of their other, non-hippocampal, inputs. This review focuses on recent advances that herald a new understanding of the importance of the mammillary bodies, and their inputs from the limbic midbrain, for anterior thalamic function. It has become apparent that the mammillary bodies’ contribution to memory is not dependent on afferents from the subicular complex. Rather, the ventral tegmental nucleus of Gudden is a vital source of inputs that support memory processes within the medial mammillary bodies. In parallel, the lateral mammillary bodies, via their connections with the dorsal tegmental nucleus of Gudden, are critical for generating head-direction signals. These two parallel, but distinct, information streams converge on the anterior thalamic nuclei and support different aspects of spatial memory.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Anterior thalamic nucleus; Diencephalon; Gudden's tegmental nuclei; Learning and memory; Mammillary bodies; Mammillothalamic tract
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0149-7634
Funders:	Wellcome Trust
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2023 11:19
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/65654

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