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 thalamus. It consists of heavily myelinated fibres.[1] It is part of a brain circuit involved in spatial memory.[2][3]
| Mammillothalamic tract | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | fasciculus mammillothalamicus |
| TA98 | A14.1.08.671 A14.1.08.954 |
| TA2 | 5757 |
| FMA | 83849 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
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]
Structure
Axons divide within the gray matter; the thicker fibres form the MTT while the finer branches descend as the mammillotegmental fasciculus.[2] The MTT spreads fan-like as it terminates in the medial dorsal nucleus.[2] Some fibers pass through the dorsal nucleus to the angular nucleus of the thalamus. (a group of cells ventral to the lateral dorsal nucleus of thalamus[5]). The axons from these nuclei form part of the thalamocortical radiations.[6]
Clinical significance
Infarction of the region including the mammillothalamic tract has been associated with alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome.[7]
History
The mammillothalamic tract was first described by the French physician, Félix Vicq d'Azyr, from whom it takes its alternate name (bundle of Vicq d'Azyr).[2]
See also
References
External links
- ancil-115 at NeuroNames - "mammillothalamic tract"
- hier-407 at NeuroNames - "mammillothalamic tract of hypothalamus"
- hier-356 at NeuroNames - "mammillothalamic tract of thalamus"
- https://web.archive.org/web/20080505050804/http://isc.temple.edu/neuroanatomy/lab/atlas/dan2/
