Posterior nucleus of hypothalamus
| Posterior hypothalamic nucleus | |
|---|---|
Posterior nucleus is 'PN', at right, in red. | |
| Details | |
| Part of | Hypothalamus |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | nucleus posterior hypothalami |
| NeuroNames | 420 |
| NeuroLex ID | birnlex_1463 |
| TA98 | A14.1.08.939 |
| TA2 | 5738 |
| FMA | 62350 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
The posterior nucleus of the hypothalamus is one of the many nuclei that make up the hypothalamic region of the brain.
Its functions include elevation of blood pressure, pupillary dilation, and shivering or body heat conservation (thermoregulation).[1] Damage or destruction of this nucleus causes hypothermia. Descending efferents from the nucleus synapse on the sympathetic neurons of the spinal cord, which exist in the thoracic and lumbar regions in the lateral horns. A recent study showed that a subset of neurons in this brain area are involved in the generation of panic-like defensive state in mice.[2]
References
- ^ Fundamental neuroscience for basic and clinical applications. Haines, Duane E., Ard, M. D. (March D.) (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier/Saunders. 2013. ISBN 9781437702941. OCLC 794603152.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Zhao, Miao; Zhang, Li; Chen, Zhenhua; Zhang, Shuangfeng; Cheng, Xinyu; Huang, Meizhu; Li, Xiating; Gu, Huating; Guan, Xuyan; Geng, Dandan; Li, Yaning; Tu, Yiheng; Xie, Zhiyong; Zhang, Fan; Ma, Huijie (2025-07-01). "A molecularly defined brain circuit module for regulating panic-like defensive state". Nature Communications. 16 (1): 5523. doi:10.1038/s41467-025-60529-3. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 12216190.