- (previously described as part of the dorsal thalamus)
- Consist of a thin layer of neurons covering the lateral aspect of the (dorsal) thalamus
- Separated from the dorsal thalamus by the external medullary lamina.
- Relations
- Laterally: internal capsule.
- Inferiorly: partially continuous with the zona incerta.
- Most fibres emerging from the dorsal thalamus have to traverse the reticular nucleus (The fibres crossing through it give the nucleus a reticulated appearance, and hence, the name).
- As they pass through it, the fibres give collaterals to the reticular nucleus.
- In this way, the nucleus receives
- Somatic impulses
- Visceral impulses
- Auditory impulses
- Connections
- Efferents
- Pass back into the dorsal thalamus.
- GABAergic.
- Afferents
- Fibres from the nucleus cuneiformis (in the reticular formation of the midbrain).
- Cholinergic fibres
- Function
- Influence conduction through the dorsal thalamus.
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