Habenula
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At the time the article was created Jeremy Jones had no recorded disclosures.
View Jeremy Jones's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Wilson Tao had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Wilson Tao's current disclosuresThe habenula is located anterolaterally to the pineal gland, posteromedial to the thalamus and is part of the epithalamus. It measures 5 to 9 mm in size 1,3. The habenula has traditionally been divided into lateral (limbic) and medial (motor) parts, although the lateral part can be further divided into ten distinct subnuclei and the medial into five distinct subnuclei 1.
It receives input from the basal ganglia and limbic forebrain via the stria medullaris and outputs to many midbrain areas (ventral tegmentum, substantia nigra, raphe nucleus and medial raphe) via the fasciculus retroflexus, and communicates with the contralateral habenula via the habenular commissure 1,3.
It is involved in releasing neuromodulators, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin 1,3. These influence a myriad of functions, including pain processing, reproductive behavior, nutrition, sleep-wake cycles, stress responses, anxiety, depression and learning 1-3.
Functional MRI (fMRI) has linked the function of the lateral habenula with reward processing, in particular with regard to encoding negative feedback or negative rewards.
Related pathology
calcification of habenula: may be physiological, but may also be associated with schizophrenia 2
References
- 1. Susan Standring. Gray's Anatomy. (2008) ISBN: 9780443066849 - Google Books
- 2. Saade C, Najem E, Asmar K, Salman R, El Achkar B, Naffaa L. Intracranial Calcifications on CT: An Updated Review. J Radiol Case Rep. 2019;13(8):1-18. doi:10.3941/jrcr.v13i8.3633 - Pubmed
- 3. Bian B, Hou L, Chai Y et al. Visualizing the Habenula Using 3T High-Resolution MP2RAGE and QSM: A Preliminary Study. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2024;45(4):504-10. doi:10.3174/ajnr.a8156 - Pubmed
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