Ventral posterior nucleus

Ventral posterior nucleus
Thalamic nuclei: MNG = Midline nuclear group AN = Anterior nuclear group MD = Medial dorsal nucleus VNG = Ventral nuclear group VA = Ventral anterior nucleus VL = Ventral lateral nucleus VPL = Ventral posterolateral nucleus VPM = Ventral posteromedial nucleus LNG = Lateral nuclear group PUL = Pulvinar MTh = Metathalamus LG = Lateral geniculate nucleus MG = Medial geniculate nucleus
Thalamic nuclei
Details
Part of	Thalamus
Identifiers
Latin	Nucleus ventralis posterior thalami
NeuroNames	343
NeuroLex ID	birnlex_1116
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy [edit on Wikidata]

The ventral posterior nucleus is the somato-sensory relay nucleus in thalamus of the brain.^[1]

Input and output

The ventral posterior nucleus receives neuronal input from the medial lemniscus, spinothalamic tracts, and trigeminothalamic tract. It projects to the somatosensory cortex and the ascending reticuloactivation system.

Subdivisions

The ventral posterior nucleus is divided into:

Ventral posterolateral nucleus, which receives sensory information from the body via the medial lemniscus, and spinothalamic tracts.
Ventral posteromedial nucleus, which receives sensory information from the head and face via the trigeminal nerve.
Ventral intermediate nucleus, implicated in oscillatory tremor generation in Parkinson's disease and essential tremor.^[2]

Function

The ventral posterior nucleus has, by virtue of its afferent and efferent pathways, crucial relay and regulatory roles in touch, body position, pain, temperature, itch, taste, and arousal. Additionally, the VPN—and particularly the ventral intermediate nucleus of the VPN—have been implicated in the pathophysiology and modulation of oscillatory tremors as found in Parkinson's disease and essential tremor; accordingly, it is a target of deep brain stimulation in the treatment of such pathologies.

Additional images

Thalamus
Thalamus

Anatomy of the diencephalon of the human brain

Epithalamus

Surface	Pineal gland Habenula Habenular trigone Habenular commissure
Grey matter	Pretectal area Habenular nuclei Subcommissural organ

Thalamus

Surface	Stria medullaris of thalamus Thalamic reticular nucleus Taenia thalami
Grey matter/ nuclei	paired: AN Ventral VA/VL VP/VPM/VPL Lateral LD LP Pulvinar nuclei Metathalamus MG LG P cell M cell K cell midline: MD Intralaminar Centromedian Midline nuclear group Interthalamic adhesion
White matter	Mammillothalamic tract Pallidothalamic tracts Ansa lenticularis Lenticular fasciculus Thalamic fasciculus PCML Medial lemniscus Trigeminal lemniscus Spinothalamic tract Lateral lemniscus Dentatothalamic tract Acoustic radiation Optic radiation Subthalamic fasciculus Anterior trigeminothalamic tract Medullary laminae

Hypothalamus

Surface

Grey matter

Autonomic zones	Anterior (parasympathetic/heat loss) Posterior (sympathetic/heat conservation)
Endocrine	posterior pituitary: Paraventricular Magnocellular neurosecretory cell Parvocellular neurosecretory cell Supraoptic oxytocin/vasopressin other: Arcuate (dopamine/GHRH) Preoptic (GnRH) Suprachiasmatic (melatonin)
Emotion	Lateral Ventromedial Dorsomedial

White matter

afferent
efferent
- Mammillothalamic tract
- Dorsal longitudinal fasciculus

Pituitary

Posterior is diencephalon, but anterior is glandular

Subthalamus

References

^ Sheridan, Nicholas; Tadi, Prasanna (2023), "Neuroanatomy, Thalamic Nuclei", StatPearls, Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, PMID 31751098, retrieved 2023-09-17
^ Deiber, MP (1993). "Thalamic stimulation and suppression of parkinsonian tremor". Brain. 116 (1): 267–79. doi:10.1093/brain/116.1.267. PMID 8453462.