Definition
The diencephalon is the more caudal of the two divisions of the forebrain. It lies between the more rostral division of the forebrain, the telencephalon, and the rostral end of the midbrain. The diencephalon comprises four divisions in its major, rostral part – the epithalamus, dorsal thalamus, ventral thalamus (or subthalamus), and hypothalamus – as well as the more caudally lying pretectum and, in some vertebrates, the posterior tuberculum.
Characteristics
The diencephalon varies substantially in the degree of elaboration of its various components – epithalamus, dorsal thalamus, ventral thalamus, hypothalamus, pretectum, and the migrated nuclei of the posterior tuberculum – across vertebrates. The hypothalamus, pretectum, and posterior tubercular nuclei are arguably most complex in most taxa of ray-finned fishes, while the dorsal thalamus and ventral thalamus are most elaborated in amniotes. The more dorsal part of the epithalamus is also quite variable, while its...
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Butler, A.B. (2009). Evolution of the Diencephalon. In: Binder, M.D., Hirokawa, N., Windhorst, U. (eds) Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_3155
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