# Diencephalon > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Diencephalon > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Diencephalon.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diencephalon > Source revision: 1334531880 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Division of the forebrain around the third ventricle Diencephalon The hypothalamus and the right and left halves of the thalamus are labeled. The cerebellum is not part of the diencephalon. Details Precursor Prosencephalon, derived from the neural tube Part of Human brain Parts Thalamus, the hypothalamus, the epithalamus and the subthalamus Identifiers Latin diencephalon MeSH D004027 NeuroLex ID birnlex_1503 TA98 A14.1.03.007 A14.1.08.001 TA2 5661 TH H3.11.03.5.00001 FMA 62001 Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy [edit on Wikidata] In the [human brain](/source/Human_brain), the **diencephalon** (or **interbrain**[1]) is a division of the [forebrain](/source/Forebrain) (embryonic *prosencephalon*). It is situated between the [telencephalon](/source/Telencephalon) and the [midbrain](/source/Midbrain) (embryonic *mesencephalon*). The diencephalon has also been known as the **tweenbrain** in older literature.[2] It consists of structures that are on either side of the [third ventricle](/source/Third_ventricle), including the [thalamus](/source/Thalamus), the [hypothalamus](/source/Hypothalamus), the [epithalamus](/source/Epithalamus) and the [subthalamus](/source/Subthalamus). The diencephalon is one of the main [vesicles of the brain](/source/Brain_vesicle) formed during [embryonic development](/source/Human_embryonic_development). During the third week of development a [neural tube](/source/Neural_tube) is created from the [ectoderm](/source/Ectoderm), one of the three primary [germ layers](/source/Germ_layer), and forms three main vesicles: the [prosencephalon](/source/Prosencephalon), the [mesencephalon](/source/Midbrain) and the [rhombencephalon](/source/Hindbrain). The prosencephalon gradually divides into the telencephalon (the [cerebrum](/source/Cerebrum)) and the diencephalon. ## Structure The diencephalon consists of the following structures:[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] - [Thalamus](/source/Thalamus) - [Hypothalamus](/source/Hypothalamus) including the [posterior pituitary](/source/Posterior_pituitary) - [Epithalamus](/source/Epithalamus) which consists of: - Anterior and posterior [paraventricular nuclei](/source/Paraventricular_nuclei) - Medial and lateral [habenular nuclei](/source/Habenular_nuclei) - [Stria medullaris thalami](/source/Stria_medullaris_thalami) - [Posterior commissure](/source/Posterior_commissure) - [Pineal body](/source/Pineal_body) - [Subthalamus](/source/Subthalamus) ### Attachments The [optic nerve](/source/Optic_nerve) (CNII) attaches to the diencephalon. The optic nerve is a sensory (afferent) nerve responsible for [vision](/source/Visual_perception) and [sight](/source/Sight); it runs from the eye through the [optic canal](/source/Optic_canal) in the [skull](/source/Human_skull) and attaches to the diencephalon. The [retina](/source/Retina) itself is derived from the [optic cup](/source/Optic_cup_(embryology)), a part of the embryonic diencephalon.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Function This section may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards, as it uses non-scientific language and lacks citations. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. You can help. The talk page may contain suggestions. (November 2023) The diencephalon is the region of the embryonic vertebrate [neural tube](/source/Neural_tube) that gives rise to anterior [forebrain](/source/Forebrain) structures including the [thalamus](/source/Thalamus), [hypothalamus](/source/Hypothalamus), [posterior](/source/Posterior_(anatomy)) portion of the [pituitary gland](/source/Pituitary_gland), and the [pineal gland](/source/Pineal_gland). The diencephalon encloses a cavity called the third ventricle. The thalamus serves as a relay centre for sensory and motor impulses between the spinal cord and medulla oblongata, and the cerebrum. It recognizes sensory impulses of heat, cold, pain, pressure etc. The floor of the third ventricle is called the hypothalamus. It has control centres for control of eye movement and hearing responses. ## Additional images - Diagram depicting the main subdivisions of the embryonic vertebrate brain. These regions will later differentiate into forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain structures. - Reconstruction of peripheral nerves of a human embryo of 10.2 mm. (Label for Diencephalon is at left.) ## See also - [Diencephalic syndrome](/source/Diencephalic_syndrome) - [List of regions in the human brain](/source/List_of_regions_in_the_human_brain) ## References *This article incorporates text in the [public domain](/source/Public_domain) from [page 807](https://archive.org/stream/anatomyofhumanbo1918gray#page/807/mode/2up) of the 20th edition of* [Gray's Anatomy](/source/Gray's_Anatomy) *(1918)* 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Interbrain | anatomy"](https://www.britannica.com/science/interbrain). *Encyclopedia Britannica*. Retrieved 2021-05-07. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Cloake_2-0)** Cloake, P (August 1927). ["The Influence of the Diencephalon ('Tween Brain) on Metabolism"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2100946). *Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine*. **20** (10): 1643–56. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1177/003591572702001036](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F003591572702001036). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [2100946](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2100946). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [19986038](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19986038). ## External links - [Stained brain slice images which include the "diencephalon"](https://brainmaps.org/index.php?q=diencephalon) at the [BrainMaps project](/source/BrainMaps) - [NIF Search – Diencephalon](https://www.neuinfo.org/mynif/search.php?q=Diencephalon&t=data&s=cover&b=0&r=20) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200413073731/https://neuinfo.org/data/search?q=Diencephalon&t=data&s=cover&b=0&r=20) 2020-04-13 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) via the [Neuroscience Information Framework](/source/Neuroscience_Information_Framework) Classification D MeSH: D004027 SNOMED CT: 279328001 v t e Nervous system Central nervous system Meninges Spinal cord Brain Hindbrain Medulla Pons Cerebellum Midbrain Forebrain Diencephalon Retina Optic nerve Cerebrum Limbic system Peripheral nervous system Somatic Sensory nerve Motor nerve Cranial nerves Spinal nerve Autonomic Sympathetic Parasympathetic Enteric v t e Anatomy of the diencephalon of the human brain Epithalamus Surface Pineal gland Habenula Habenular trigone Habenular commissure Grey matter Pretectal area Habenular nuclei Subcommissural organ Thalamus Surface Stria medullaris Thalamic reticular nucleus Taenia thalami Grey matter/ nuclei paired: AN Ventral VA/VL VP/VPM/VPL Lateral LD LP Pulvinar nuclei Metathalamus MG LG P cell M cell K cell midline: MD Intralaminar Centromedian Midline nuclear group Interthalamic adhesion White matter Mammillothalamic tract Pallidothalamic tracts Ansa lenticularis Lenticular fasciculus Thalamic fasciculus DCML Medial lemniscus Trigeminal lemniscus Spinothalamic tract Lateral lemniscus Dentatothalamic tract Acoustic radiation Optic radiation Subthalamic fasciculus Ventral trigeminal tract Medullary laminae Hypothalamus Surface Median eminence/Tuber cinereum Mammillary body Infundibulum Grey matter Autonomic zones Anterior (parasympathetic/heat loss) Posterior (sympathetic/heat conservation) Endocrine posterior pituitary: Paraventricular Magnocellular neurosecretory cell Parvocellular neurosecretory cell Supraoptic oxytocin/vasopressin other: Arcuate (dopamine/GHRH) Preoptic (GnRH) Suprachiasmatic (melatonin) Emotion Lateral Ventromedial Dorsomedial White matter afferent Stria terminalis Medial forebrain bundle Retinohypothalamic tract efferent Mammillothalamic tract Dorsal longitudinal fasciculus Pituitary Posterior is diencephalon, but anterior is glandular Subthalamus Subthalamic nucleus Zona incerta Nuclei campi perizonalis (Fields of Forel) [Portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Portals): - [Anatomy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Anatomy) Authority control databases International GND National United States France BnF data Czech Republic Israel Other Terminologia Anatomica 2 Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Diencephalon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diencephalon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diencephalon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.