The dorsal vagal complex (DVC) comprises three anatomically and functionally linked structures, the area postrema, the nucleus tractus solitarius, and the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve, forming a key hub for the integration of peripheral inflammatory information. These structures play a unique role at the neuroimmune interface, conveying peripheral immune signals to the brain and generating behavioral and physiological responses through two complementary pathways: a neural pathway, via vagal afferents projecting to the nucleus tractus solitarius, and a humoral pathway, via the area postrema, which lacks a blood–brain barrier and is therefore sensitive to circulating inflammatory mediators. Numerous studies have established that the DVC serves as a mandatory gateway for peripheral inflammatory signals, integrating this information prior to its transmission to forebrain centers and peripheral organs. Understanding this interface represents a major therapeutic challenge, as modulating the DVC and its circuits opens new avenues for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases and neurodegenerative disorders in which this interface is chronically disrupted. Paradoxically, despite this essential role in the regulation of inflammation, the phenotype of microglial cells, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, has received very little attention in this region. In the present study, we characterized these cells by investigating the expression of Fc receptors for IgG and major histocompatibility complex class I and II. Our results reveal microglial subpopulations displaying an atypical phenotype in the healthy DVC, suggesting that these cells may serve as a specialized immunological interface capable of actively monitoring systemic signals.
ObjectiveTo observe the application effect of the 3D Body Mobile Application (App) in the teaching of neuroanatomy.Methods100 students from the outstanding class of clinical medicine major of Xi’an Medical University were selected as the research subjects and randomly divided into the experimental group (50 students) and the control group (50 students). During the teaching of cranial brain anatomy, the control group adopted the traditional teaching mode, while the experimental group combined the traditional teaching mode with the Three-dimensional (3D) Body Mobile App. After the two groups completed the teaching of cranial brain anatomy, a test paper was designed to analyze and statistically analyze the test scores. At the same time, the satisfaction of the teaching method’s interest, flexibility, richness of teaching content, and learning efficiency was investigated separately; finally, 20 peer clinical teachers conducted peer teaching evaluations from aspects such as teaching novelty, teaching logic, teaching rigor, teaching target orientation, student concentration, value orientation guidance, and integration of course ideological education.ResultsIn terms of the interestingness of teaching methods, the flexibility, richness, and learning efficiency of teaching content, the control group had the following percentages: 64, 54, 44, and 38%, respectively; the experimental group had the following percentages: 90, 84, 88, and 82%, respectively. The experimental group outperformed the control group (p < 0.05). Regarding teaching satisfaction and peer teaching evaluation, the experimental group scored higher than the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). For average practical test scores and theoretical test scores, the experimental group scored higher than the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05).ConclusionUsing the 3D Body Mobile application in cranial anatomy teaching can enhance the interest and intuitiveness of instructional content to a certain extent. Through three-dimensional models, interactive operations, and dynamic demonstrations, previously abstract anatomical structures become vivid, intuitive, and easier to understand. This tool optimizes teaching methods and the allocation of educational resources, offering students a more flexible and self-directed learning approach. At the same time, it addresses some shortcomings of traditional teaching methods, providing new strategies and references for future instruction.
This review outlines the development of thalamic atlases from early post-mortem 2D histological maps to modern 3D multimodal atlases used in neuroscience and clinical practice. Given the central role of the thalamus in sensory processing, movement, and cognition, accurate anatomical mapping has been essential for both research and neurosurgical targeting. By synthesizing historical and modern approaches, we highlight the methodological advances, such as the development of thalamus-specific MRI sequences, that have improved the precision of thalamic nuclei delineation. We focus on open-source atlases that support reproducible research and clinical applications. Future developments will likely focus on integrating multi-scale data; combining cytoarchitectonic, with quantitative MRI and computational models to improve thalamic parcellation and accurate localization in vivo.
When thinking about the beginning of modern anatomical drawings that reflect topography in detail, our thoughts often turn to the more than 200 woodcuts included in Andreas Vesalius’s “De humani corporis fabrica libri septem.” However, Leonardo da Vinci also produced detailed anatomical sketches before the publication of the Fabrica, including drawings that addressed the cerebral ventricular system. The goal of this narrative historical review is to examine how medical knowledge of the ventricular system evolved from antiquity, represented by Galen of Pergamon and Hippocrates of Kos, toward post-Galenic anatomy. This analysis is based on four sketches created between approximately 1487 and 1509, held in the collections of the Royal Library at Windsor, England, and the Schlossmuseum in Weimar, Germany. Although medical literature frequently references Leonardo’s anatomical work, relatively few studies have focused specifically on the morphology of the ventricular system while also considering the physiology and philosophy of the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. This study therefore analyzes Leonardo’s ventricular drawings as an important transitional episode in the visual history of neuroanatomy. At the same time, it acknowledges that Leonardo’s anatomical studies were largely unpublished during his lifetime, that their influence on later anatomists remains uncertain, and that retrospective interpretation of historical drawings requires caution.
IntroductionTo avoid image blurring, the vestibulo-ocular (VOR) and the optokinetic (OKR) reflexes stabilize gaze. In all vertebrates, the VOR is mediated via direct projections from the vestibular nuclei to the motor nuclei that control the extraocular muscles. Lampreys show three vestibular nuclei that are well characterized in terms of their projections and sensory inputs, but much less is known about their inputs from other brain regions and the connectivity between them.MethodsWe used tracer injections and extracellular electrophysiological recordings, to analyze the inputs to each vestibular nucleus.ResultsThe lamprey vestibular nuclei are largely interconnected, while their inputs from other brain regions are scarce. The main rostral areas projecting to the vestibular nuclei are the pretectum and the ventral tier of the thalamus, which send ipsilateral inputs to the three vestibular nuclei.DiscussionThese findings show that the interconnectivity of the vestibular nuclei was already stablished at the beginning of vertebrate evolution, and that the pretectal input provides visual information to all the vestibular nuclei, indicating that visuovestibular integration for gaze and body stabilization was already important at the base of vertebrate evolution.
