Question:medium
Which nucleus is involved in the Papez circuit?
Which nucleus is involved in the Papez circuit?
Show Hint
Follow the mammillothalamic tract from the mammillary bodies to its thalamic target.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Pulvinar
- VPL nucleus
- Intralaminar nucleus
- Anterior nucleus of thalamus
Show Solution
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The Papez circuit is best remembered as a closed ring linking memory and emotion. Start at the hippocampal formation, which sends output through the fornix down to the mammillary bodies. The mammillary bodies then relay upward through the mammillothalamic tract, and the single thalamic station that receives this tract is the anterior nucleus of the thalamus. From there signals pass to the cingulate gyrus, on to the parahippocampal and entorhinal cortex, and finally loop back into the hippocampus. Checking the distractors: the pulvinar is an association nucleus tied to visual attention, the VPL nucleus carries body somatosensory input, and the intralaminar nuclei are part of the diffuse arousal/reticular projection system. None of these sit on the Papez ring, so the only valid thalamic relay is the anterior nucleus.
\[\boxed{\text{Anterior nucleus of thalamus}}\]
\[\boxed{\text{Anterior nucleus of thalamus}}\]
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