Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Apr 16;230(4):50.
doi: 10.1007/s00429-025-02913-9.

Development of the Epithalamus in Alligator mississippiensis

Michael B Pritz  1   2
Affiliations

Development of the Epithalamus in Alligator mississippiensis

Michael B Pritz. Brain Struct Funct. .

Abstract

The epithalamus is present in all vertebrates where it is a central part of the dorsal diencephalic conduction system whose functions are critical for survival. The epithalamus consists of both nuclei and tracts. Studies on the development of the epithalamus in amniotes (reptiles, birds, and mammals) based on cytoarchitecture have commonly been part of a larger report on the embryogenesis of the diencephalon. Of these, observations on the epithalamus of reptiles are few with limited descriptions and figures. The present analysis fills this gap in knowledge by examining the development of the epithalamus in one group of reptiles, Alligator mississippiensis, using stains for cells and fibers. The time of origin and subsequent development of the nuclei and the tracts that course through the epithalamus were determined. These data provide a basis for future studies and for comparisons with other amniotes.

Keywords: Development; Fasciculus retroflexus; Habenula; Habenular commissure; Stria medullaris; Subhabenular nuclei.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The author declares no conflicts of interest. Ethical approval: The protocols and methods used in this study were in accordance with the guidelines of the National Institutes of Health. These were approved by the animal use committee at Indiana University School of Medicine (Protocol Approval 10516). Consent for publication: The author consents to publication of this manuscript.

References

    1. Amat JA, Martínez-de-la-Torre M, Trujillo CM, Fernández B, Puelles L (2022) Neurogenetic heterochrony in chick, lizard, and rat mapped with wholemount acetylcholinesterase and the prosomeric model. Brain Behav Evol 97(1–2):48–82. https://doi.org/10.1159/000524216 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ariëns Kappers CU, Huber GC, Crosby EC (1967) The comparative anatomy of the nervous system of vertebrates, including man, vol 2. New York. Originally published in 1936, Hafner, New York
    1. Beretta CA, Dross N, Guiterrez-Triana JA, Ryu S, Carl M (2012) Habenula circuit development: past, present, and future. Front Neurosci 6:51. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2012.00051 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Bergquist H (1953) On the development of diencephalic nuclei and certain mesencephalic relations in Lepidochelys olivacea and other reptiles. Acta Zoologica 34:1–36 - DOI
    1. Coggeshall RE (1964) A study of diencephalic development in the albino rat. J Comp Neurol 122:241–269. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.901220208 - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources