Anterior Nucleus of the Thalamus (ANT)
Disorders Treated with Stimulation
- Primary indications: Epilepsy [1,2]
Location
- The ANT is located in the anterior-superior thalamus, bordering the adjacent lateral ventricle, typically best appreciated on FGATIR, particularly in the sagittal plane. The anterior aspect of the nucleus is at the superior terminus of the mammillothalamic tract (MMT), a common landmark used to identify the ANT. [1,3]
Associated Tracts
- Thalamocortical Projections: Connected to the cingulate gyrus via thalamocortical fibers of the anterior nucleus (not shown), which traverse the stria terminalis [1]. The ANT is a key component of the Papez circuit, which is a limbic circuit involved in emotion and memory. [1,4]
- Mammillothalamic Tract: As mentioned above, the superior aspect of the MMT is used to identify the anterior-inferior aspect of the ANT.
References
- Middlebrooks EH, Domingo RA, Vivas-Buitrago T, Okromelidze L, Tsuboi T, Wong JK, Eisinger RS, Almeida L, Burns MR, Horn A, Uitti RJ, Wharen RE Jr, Holanda VM, Grewal SS. Neuroimaging Advances in Deep Brain Stimulation: Review of Indications, Anatomy, and Brain Connectomics. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2020 Sep;41(9):1558-1568. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A6693. Epub 2020 Aug 13. PMID: 32816768; PMCID: PMC7583111
- Lee DJ, Lozano CS, Dallapiazza RF, Lozano AM. Current and future directions of deep brain stimulation for neurological and psychiatric disorders. J Neurosurg. 2019 Aug 1;131(2):333-342. doi: 10.3171/2019.4.JNS181761. PMID: 31370011
- Grewal SS, Middlebrooks EH, Kaufmann TJ, Stead M, Lundstrom BN, Worrell GA, Lin C, Baydin S, Van Gompel JJ. Fast gray matter acquisition T1 inversion recovery MRI to delineate the mammillothalamic tract for preoperative direct targeting of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus for deep brain stimulation in epilepsy. Neurosurg Focus. 2018 Aug;45(2):E6. doi: 10.3171/2018.4.FOCUS18147. PMID: 30064328
- Choi SH, Kim YB, Paek SH, Cho ZH. Papez Circuit Observed by in vivo Human Brain With 7.0T MRI Super-Resolution Track Density Imaging and Track Tracing. Front Neuroanat. 2019 Feb 18;13:17. doi: 10.3389/fnana.2019.00017. PMID: 30833891; PMCID: PMC6387901