Suprachiasmatic nucleus
Relay nuclei · detail
Hypothalamic nucleus lying directly above the chiasm. Melanopsin-containing intrinsically photosensitive ganglion cells send the retinohypothalamic tract to it from the chiasm, entraining the circadian clock independently of rods and cones.
Traced from the start
Detail
- Afferent
- Retinohypothalamic tract from melanopsin ganglion cells (about 1% of ganglion cells)
- Output
- Paraventricular nucleus, then sympathetic chain to the pineal for melatonin
- Function
- Entrains the circadian rhythm to the light-dark cycle
When it goes wrong
Loss of rods and cones with surviving ganglion cells
Circadian entrainment and a slow pupillary response can persist despite blindness
Practise this structure
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