The anterior nuclei of thalamus (or anterior nuclear group) are collection of nuclei at the rostral end of the dorsal thalamus

Thalamus

The thalamus is a midline paired symmetrical structure within the brains of vertebrates, including humans. It is situated between the cerebral cortex and midbrain, both in terms of location and neurological connections...

.

Inputs and outputs

They receive afferents from the mammillary bodies, via the mammillothalamic tract and subiculum

Subiculum

The subiculum is the most inferior component of the hippocampal formation. It lies between the entorhinal cortex and the CA1 subfield of the hippocampus proper.-Paths:...

, via the fornix. In turn, they project to the cingulate gyrus.

Function

These nuclei

Nucleus (neuroanatomy)

In neuroanatomy, a nucleus is a brain structure consisting of a relatively compact cluster of neurons. It is one of the two most common forms of nerve cell organization, the other being layered structures such as the cerebral cortex or cerebellar cortex. In anatomical sections, a nucleus shows up...

 are thought to play a role in the modulation of alertness

Alertness

Alertness is the state of paying close and continuous attention, being watchful and prompt to meet danger or emergency, or being quick to perceive and act. It is related to psychology as well as to physiology...

 and are involved in learning

Learning

Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...

 and memory

Memory

In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....

. They are considered to be part of the limbic system

Limbic system

The limbic system is a set of brain structures including the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior thalamic nuclei, septum, limbic cortex and fornix, which seemingly support a variety of functions including emotion, behavior, long term memory, and olfaction. The term "limbic" comes from the Latin...

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External links

• NIF Search - Anterior Nuclear Group via the Neuroscience Information Framework
  Neuroscience Information Framework
  The Neuroscience Information Framework is a repository of global neuroscience web resources, including experimental, clinical, and translational neuroscience databases, knowledge bases, atlases, and genetic/genomic resources.-Description:...