Term: Zona incerta

Definition: Gurdjian 1927. It used to be said that derivatives of the embryonic ventral thalamus do not project to the endbrain. However, a population of neurons in the zona incerta projects to the cerebral cortex, along with adjacent neurons in the underlying LHA (see Lin et al. 1990 and note 169). At least based on topography and connections, the zona incerta might be viewed best as a component of the LHA. The zona incerta is different in almost every way from the other traditional components of the ventral thalamus, the reticular nucleus of the thalamus and ventral part of the lateral geniculate complex (notes 111, 282, and 283).

Nomenclature: Swanson-2004