Hypothalamus / Gallman

David Maduram 1 / 10

1. PURPOSE The hypothalamus is mainly responsible for maintaining our internal environment in a bearable physiological range. As a case in point, the hypothalamus regulates body temperature by triggering responses to excessive cold (shivering) or excessive heat (vasodialation)

2. ANATOMY Here's a mid-sagittal view of the hypothalamus (shaded in blue)

SUPERIOR BOUNDARY The upper boundary of the hypothalamus is the thalamus -- you can see this clearly by tracing a line between the anterior commissure and the posterior commissure. ANTERIOR BOUNDARY The left boundary of the hypothalamus is the lamina terminalis (shown above) POSTERIOR BOUNDARY / INFERIOR BOUNDARY The lower boundary of the hypothalamus stretches from the optic chiasm to midway between the mammillary body and the posterior commissure.

Hypothalamus / Gallman

David Maduram 2 / 10

2. ANATOMY (cont.) Here's a coronal section of the hypothalamus (shaded in blue)

MEDIAL BOUNDARY The third ventricle is located in the middle of the hypothalamus LATERAL BOUNDARY The hypothalamus is bounded laterally by the subthalamus and the internal capsule

Hypothalamus / Gallman

David Maduram 3 / 10

3. BLOOD SUPPLY Here's a horizontal view of the brain & ancillary vasculature:

As seen on the mid-sagittal section on page 1, the hypothalamus is located right above the optic chiasm. Since the optic chiasm region is supplied by the posterior communicating arteries (see diagram above), it's natural that the hypothalamus is also supplied by the posterior communicating arteries.

Hypothalamus / Gallman

David Maduram 4 / 10

4. HYPOTHALAMUS INPUT & OUTPUT As noted previously, the hypothalamus is responsible for maintaining the body's internal environment within a physiological range (homeostasis). This is done in three steps: 1. The hypothalamus receives sensory input [i.e. from thermoreceptors] 2. Determines whether the input falls within an optimum physiological range [i.e. too hot? too cold?] 3. . . . and triggers a response [i.e. start shivering!] STEP 1: INPUT The hypothalamus receives input from: 1. Forebrain / Limbic Structures a. receives information from autonomic systems related to affect 2. Spinal cord and Brainstem Structures a. receives information related to visceral and somatic function 3. Circumventricular Organ a. receives information on blood protein composition 4. Receptors inside the Hypothalamus a. receives information on temperature, osmolality/salt intake, etc. STEP 2: INPUT PROCESSING (explained in next section) STEP 3: OUTPUT The hypothalamus sends output to: 1. Skeletal muscle (i.e. when you are cold, you shiver) 1. By advising the neocortex to stimulate upper / lower motor neurons 2. Visceral structures (i.e. when you are cold, heart rate increases) 1. By directly stimulating autonomic motor neurons 2. By stimulating the pituitary gland to release hormones

Hypothalamus / Gallman

David Maduram 5 / 10

5. HYPOTHALAMUS INPUT PROCESSING In order to process all the input it receives, the hypothalamus uses a set of 14 internal nuclei, which all have very specific functions. These nuclei can be organized spatially in two directions -- anterior to posterior (rows of table below), and medial to lateral (columns of table below). Region Anterior Hypothalamus Medial Hypothalamus Medial preoptic nucleus Supraoptic nucleus Paraventricular nucleus Anterior nucleus Suprachiasmatic nucleus Dorsomedial nucleus Ventromedial nucleus Arcuate/infundibular nucleus Posterior hypothalamic nucleus Medial mammillary nucleus Lateral Hypthalamus Lateral preoptic nucleus Lateral nucleus

Tuberal Hypothalamus

Lateral nucleus

Posterior Hypothalamus

Lateral nucleus

These nuclei don't have to be memorized, but it's a good idea to be able to be able to picture in your mind where, say, the medial anterior hypothalamus is, or the lateral posterior hypothalamus is. This will become important in the next section. MEDIAL / LATERAL HYPOTHALAMUS Here's a slice through the middle of the hypothalamus -- you can clearly see a discrete medial section and a discrete lateral section.

Hypothalamus / Gallman

David Maduram 6 / 10

ANTERIOR / TUBERAL / POSTERIOR HYPOTHALAMUS Here's a mid-sagittal view of the hypothalamus and pituitary that shows the anterior, tuberal, and posterior regions

It might be hard to get oriented from the picture above, so here's another sagittal section:

The dotted regions indicate the anterior region (a), tuberal region (t), and posterial region (r) . Just as a recap, SP=Septum Pellucidum, F = fornix, TF = transverse fissure, G = Great Cerebral Vein, IF = interventricular foramen, Th = thalamus, Pi = Pineal body, LT = Lamina terminalis, O = Optic Chiasm, Inf = Infundibulum.

Hypothalamus / Gallman

David Maduram 7 / 10

6. HYPOTHALAMUS FUNCTION With the various nuclei of the hypothalamus covered, it's easy to turn to the functions of the hypothalamus, which are typically localized in specific regions. The main functions of the hypothalamus can be divided into four categories: 1. Regulatory functions 2. Neuroendocrine System 3. Autonomic System These will be discussed in order: 6.1 HYPOTHALAMUS REGULATORY FUNCTIONS The main function of the hypothalamus is regulation of the body's internal environment, including water balance, temperature, feeding behavior, and sleep-wakefulness cycle. WATER BALANCE Water balance is controlled by two anterior nuclei in the hypothalamus: the supraoptic nuclei and paraventricular nuclei Here's what the hypothalamus does when the body's water level is too low 1. Osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus detect increased concentration of salt in the blood (hyperosmotic blood) 2. Hypothalamus releases vasopressin (also called ADH / antidiuretic hormone) into the capillaries of the neurohypophysis 3. Vasopressin makes kidney retain water 4. Level of water in body increases. 5. Salt concentration in blood decreases. Here's what the hypothalamus does when the body's water level is too high 1. Osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus detect decreased concentration of salt in the blood (hypotonic) 2. Hypothalamus inhibits vasopressin from being released into the capillaries of the neurohypophysis 3. Without vasopressin, the kidneys absorb water and urine is excreted 4. Level of water in body decreases. 5. Salt concentration in blood increases. Stupid memory thing: Vasopressin is an anagram for "Piss saver on" -- this might help you remember that the physiological function of vasopressin is to increase the reabsorbtion of water in the kidney, and thereby decrease the production of urine

Hypothalamus / Gallman

David Maduram 8 / 10

One important concept that pops up in water regulation is the idea of "mutual inhibition". For example, when the water level is too high, the hypothalamus inhibits the release of an inhibitory hormone (vasopressin). The take-home point is that the hypothalamus works by inhibition, not by excitation. One last point on water regulation is the following two terms: Polydipsia = increased drinking Polyuria = increased urine production Both of these conditions are caused if the anterior medial hypothalamus and anterior lateral hypothalamus are both wiped out (bilateral damage). This makes sense, since without the water regulatory nuclei, there's no stable way to regulate water balance, so people drink too much (polydipsia) to raise interal water levels, and excrete too much (polyuria) to decrease water levels. TEMPERATURE REGULATION Cooling the body is controlled by the Anterior Hypothalamus (i.e. Anterior Center = AC) Heating the body is controlled by the Posterior Hypothalamus Here's what the hypothalamus does when body temperature gets too hot 1. Heat-sensitive thermoreceptors in the anterior hypothalamus are activated when arterial blood temperature goes up. 2. Autonomic nervous system initiates responses that favor heat loss a. Sweating b. Cutaneous vasodilation 3. Body temperature goes down Here's what the hypothalamus does when body temperature gets too cold 1. Cold-sensitive thermoreceptors in the anterior hypothalamus are activated when arterial blood temperature goes down. 2. Autonomic nervous system initiates responses that favor heat gain a. Shivering b. Cutaneous vasoconstriction c. Increased heart rate d. Elevation of basal metabolic rate e. Mobilization of carbohydrate reserve 3. Body temperature goes up Two key terms for this function are: Hyperthermia = inability to dissipate heat Poikilothermia = inability to regulate body temperature (think of the cold-blooded 'pike')

Hypothalamus / Gallman

David Maduram 9 / 10

FEEDING BEHAVIOR Ventromedial hypothalamus inhibits feeding behavior Lateral hypothalamus stimulates food intake. Stupid memory thing: The middle part of the hypothalamus helps my midriff. CIRCADIAN RYTHYMS The suprachiamsatic nucleus, located in the anterior hypothalamus, is responsible for setting the body's 'biological clock' It's important to know that the suprachiasmatic nucleus receives information from the retinohypothalamic tract to find whether it's nighttime or daytime. 6.2 HYPOTHALAMUS NEUROENDOCRINE FUNCTIONS In addition to establishing homeostasis, the hypothalamus is responsible for many endocrine functions. This is done with two structures, the adenohypophysis and neurohypophysis.

The adenohypophysis releases many hormones into the bloodstream The neurohypophysis releases vasopressin and oxytocin into the bloodstream. Stupid memory things: vasopressin reduces urine excretion, anagram='piss saver on' oxytocin mediates milk ejection, semi-anagram = 'ox tonic'

Hypothalamus / Gallman

David Maduram 10 / 10

6.3 HYPOTHALAMUS AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS The anteromedial hypothalamus has an excitatory effect on parasympathetic activities. ? Parasympathetic = "rest and digest" ? Stimulation of anterior hypothalamus results in contraction of the bladder, a fall in blood pressure, pupillary constriction, bradycardia (slowing of heart rate), increased motility of the gut, increased acidity of the gastrointestinal juices, and inhibition of respiration The posterior and lateral hypothalamus have an excitatory effect on sympathetic activities ? Sympathetic = "fight or flight" ? Stimulation of posterio-lateral hypothalamus results in increase in respiration, dilation of pupils, increase in blood pressure, inhibition of gut motility LAST STUPID MEMORY THING! Anteromedial is a near-perfect anagram of 'ameliorated', which ties into the fact that the antereomedial hypothalamus is responsible for resting and digesting :)

CONTACT David Maduram dmadur1@uiuc.edu