THE THALAMUS AND NEUROPSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS

Although the cerebral cortex is usually thought of as a likely substra te for psychiatric disease, the close relationship of thalamus to cort ex, both structurally and functionally, argues for much closer conside ration of this structure in both research and clinical settings. Four thalamic nuclei with widely differing functions are considered in term s of the specific roles they appear to play in central nervous system activity and their possible roles in psychiatric disease. These nuclei include the ventrobasal complex, the nucleus reticularis thalami, the mediodorsal nucleus, and the dorsal thalamic system with special refe rence to the habenula.