Midline nuclear group
{{Short description|A region of the thalamus in the vertebrate brain}}
{{Infobox brain
| Name = Midline nuclear group
| Latin = nuclei mediani thalami
| Image = ThalamicNuclei.svg
| Caption = 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
| Image2 = Thalmus.png
| Caption2 = Thalamic nuclei
| IsPartOf =
| Components =
| Artery =
| Vein =
}}
The midline nuclear group (or midline thalamic nuclei) is a region of the thalamus consisting of the following nuclei:
- paraventricular nucleus of thalamus (nucleus paraventricularis thalami) - not to be confused with paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus
- paratenial nucleus (nucleus parataenialis)
- nucleus reuniens (also known as the medioventral nucleus)
- rhomboidal nucleus (nucleus commissuralis rhomboidalis)
- subfascicular nucleus (nucleus subfascicularis)
The midline nuclei are often called "nonspecific" in that they project widely to the cortex and elsewhere. This has led to the assumption that they may be involved in general functions such as alerting.Rand Swenson. Review of clinical and functional neuroscience: chapter 10: Thalamic Organization. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rswenson/NeuroSci/chapter_10.html However, anatomical connections might suggest more specific functions, with the paraventricular and paratenial nuclei involved in viscero-limbic functions, and the reuniens and rhomboid nuclei involved in multimodal sensory processing.Van der Werf YD, Witter MP, Groenewegen HJ. The intralaminar and midline nuclei of the thalamus. Anatomical and functional evidence for participation in processes of arousal and awareness. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2002 Sep;39(2-3):107-40.