Are mammillary bodies part of the hippocampus?
The mammillary bodies are directly connected to three other brain regions: the hippocampus via the fornix, thalamus (primarily the anterior thalamic nuclei) via the mammillothalamic tract, and the tegmental nuclei of the midbrain via the mammillary peduncle and mammillotegmental tract.
What are the mammillary bodies and why are they important?
Mammillary bodies, and their projections to the anterior thalamus via the mammillothalamic tract, are important for recollective memory. The damage of medial mammillary nucleus leads to spatial memory deficit, according to observations in rats with mammillary body lesions.
What is hippocampus Latin for?
FMA. 275020. Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy. The hippocampus (via Latin from Greek ἱππόκαμπος, ‘seahorse’) is a major component of the brain of humans and other vertebrates.
Who discovered the hippocampus?
Julius Caesar Arantius
Julius Caesar Arantius is one of the pioneer anatomists and surgeons of the 16th century who discovered the different anatomical structures of the human body. One of his prominent discoveries is the hippocampus.
What are the mammillary bodies?
The mammillary bodies are brainstem nuclei on the posteroinferior aspect of the hypothalamus. There are 2 mammillary bodies on either side of the midline. Early anatomists named the structures after mammary tissue because they resembled small breasts (Figure 1A).[1]
Is the mammillary body part of the limbic system?
Each takes a round and smooth shape, and they are part of the limbic system. Each mammilary body joins the pretectum, thalamus and other parts as the greater diencephalon part of the brain. These bodies are connected directly to the brain, and they relay impulses to the thalamus.
Is hippocampus Latin or Greek?
hippocampus, region of the brain that is associated primarily with memory. The name hippocampus is derived from the Greek hippokampus (hippos, meaning “horse,” and kampos, meaning “sea monster”), since the structure’s shape resembles that of a sea horse.
What is the history of the hippocampus?
History and discovery The hippocampus was first referred to by Venetian anatomist Julius Caesar Aranzi in 1587. He described it as a ridge along the floor of the temporal horn of the lateral ventricle and likened it first to a silkworm and later, to a seahorse.
What do the mammillary bodies do in the brain?
The primary function associated with the mammillary bodies is recollective memory. Memory information begins within the hippocampus. Theta waves activate CA3 neurons in the hippocampus. Information about memory transmits through the fornix to the mammillary bodies (orange line, Figure 1C).
The mammillary bodies are remarkable for a number of reasons. They are clearly discernable as two spherical structures on the underside of the brain. Originally referred to as the “testicles of the brain,” they have subsequently come to be known as the “breasts of the brain” (Jones, 2011).
What is the hippocampal-mammillary body projection?
The hippocampal-mammillary body projections hold a noteworthy position in history; they were the arguably the first hippocampal projections to undergo experimental analysis and, until the mid-twentieth century, were the principal focus of attention in terms of hippocampal outputs ( Gudden, 1881, MacLean, 1990 ).
Where do the mammillary bodies receive their inputs?
The mammillary bodies receive a dense input from the hippocampus via the fornix ( Gudden, 1881 ). It was originally thought that these projections arose from the hippocampus proper (CA1-4), but Swanson and Cowan (1975) showed that the subicular complex was, in fact, the source of projections to the mammillary bodies.
What is the volume of the hippocampus in other mammals?
Other mammals. Therefore, the hippocampus takes up a much larger fraction of the cortical mantle in rodents than in primates. In adult humans the volume of the hippocampus on each side of the brain is about 3.0 to 3.5 cm 3 as compared to 320 to 420 cm 3 for the volume of the neocortex.