Untangling the dorsal diencephalic conduction system: a review of structure and function of the stria medullaris, habenula and fasciculus retroflexus
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The often-overlooked dorsal diencephalic conduction system (DDCS) is a highly conserved pathway linking the basal forebrain and the monoaminergic brainstem. It consists of three key structures; the stria medullaris, the habenula and the fasciculus retroflexus. The first component of the DDCS, the stria medullaris, is a discrete bilateral tract composed of fibers from the basal forebrain that terminate in the triangular eminence of the stalk of the pineal gland, known as the habenula. The habenula acts as a relay hub where incoming signals from the stria medullaris are processed and subsequently relayed to the midbrain and hindbrain monoaminergic nuclei through the fasciculus retroflexus. As a result of its wide-ranging connections, the DDCS has recently been implicated in a wide range of behaviors related to reward processing, aversion and motivation. As such, an understanding of the structure and connections of the DDCS may help illuminate the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, addiction and pain. This is the first review of all three components of the DDCS, the stria medullaris, the habenula and the fasciculus retroflexus, with particular focus on their anatomy, function and development.
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The cingulate cortex projects to stress inhibitory areas (dorsomedial hypothalamus and the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus), whilst the infralimbic cortex projects to stress excitatory areas (stria medullaris and amygdala).
“The cingulate cortex projects to stress inhibitory (dorsomedial hypothalamus and the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus), whilst the infralimbic cortex projects to stress excitatory areas (stria medullaris and amygdala) (125–128).”
From Childhood Trauma, the HPA Axis and Psychiatric Illnesses: A Targeted Literature Synthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [128]
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“…there is an abundance of animal studies on the DDCS connections, there has been just one study that has physically traced the connections in humans (Marburg 1944), as such it is not clear whether many of these animal networks map accurately onto the larger human forebrain (Herculano-Houzel 2009).”
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Childhood Trauma, the HPA Axis and Psychiatric Illnesses: A Targeted Literature Synthesis
Murphy, F., Nasa, A., Cullinane, D., Raajakesary, K., Gazzaz, A., Sooknarine, V., Haines, M., Roman, E., Kelly, L., O'Neill, A., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.748372 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Roman, E., Weininger, J., Lim, B., Roman, M., Barry, D., Tierney, P., O’Hanlon, E., Levins, K., O’Keane, V., & Roddy, D.
- Affiliations
- Trinity College Dublin (IE)
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (IE)
- St. Vincent's University Hospital (IE)
- Corresponding author
- Roddy, Darren
- Venue
- Brain Structure and Function
- Published
- 2020-05-04
- Volume
- 225
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1437-1458
- ISSN
- 1863-2653 (ISSN-L)
- 1863-2661
- OpenAlex
- W3022902807
- Cited by
- 44
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 0.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- arrow.tudublin.ie
- Licence
- Locations
- Brain Structure and Function (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Arrow - TU Dublin (Technological University Dublin) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- stria medullaris, habenula, fasciculus retroflexus, basal forebrain, pineal stalk, reward processing, aversion, motivation, depression, addiction, pain
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Diencephalon, Humans, Mesencephalon, Neural Pathways, Rhombencephalon, Habenula, White Matter
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