Molecular Psychiatry (2013) 18, 523 & 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved 1359-4184/13 www.nature.com/mp
IMAGE Reproduced from Habenula volume in bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder: a high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging study
JB Savitz1,2, SL Rauch3,4 and WC Drevets1,5
Third Ventricle Medial Dorsal Thalamus Limitans Nucleus/ Habenula Pretectal Area
Posterior Commissure Habenula
Cerebral Aqueduct
Molecular Psychiatry (2013) 18, 523; doi:10.1038/mp.2013.43
High-resolution coronal MRI sections (E0.4 mm3) showing the habenula and the local anatomical landmarks, which enabled its segmentation. Because the habenular nuclei contain relatively dense white matter plexuses, they can be collectively delimited from the gray matter of the adjacent thalamus dorsolaterally and the limitans nucleus and pretectal area ventrolaterally. In posterior planes, the habenula is clearly evident as a pyramidal-shaped structure that bulges into the third ventricle along the ventromedial aspect of the thalamus, whereas in anterior planes it can be delimited ventrally and medially from the thalamus by the stria medullaris of thalamus. Finally, the habenular nuclei are delimited ventrally by the white matter of the posterior commissure. The upper and lower panels consist of the identical image. The tracing of the habenula is shown in yellow in the lower panel. For more information on this topic, please refer to the article by Savitz et al. on pages 528–539.
1Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, USA; 2Department of Medicine, Tulsa School of Community Medicine at the University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA; 3McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA; 4Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA and 5Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceuticals Research and Development, Titusville, NJ, USA