The bilateral anterior limb of the internal capsule (right) is a major white matter tract situated between the head of the caudate nucleus medially and the lentiform nucleus laterally, forming part of the internal capsule that links frontal cortical regions with subcortical nuclei. It contains frontopontine fibers, thalamocortical projections (particularly from the mediodorsal and anterior thalamic nuclei to prefrontal and limbic cortices), and association fibers related to cognitive and executive processes, emotion regulation, and aspects of motivational behavior. This region is implicated in neuropsychiatric and cognitive disorders, and is a target in some neuromodulatory interventions (e.g., deep brain stimulation) due to its role in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits. There is no direct link for the anterior limb of the internal capsule; see the related structure Internal capsule.
The bilateral anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC), as defined in the JHU ICBM 2 mm atlas, has been implicated in multiple genetic and genome‑wide association (GWAS) findings, largely through studies of white matter integrity, psychiatric illness, and movement disorders. Diffusion tensor imaging GWAS have linked common variants in genes involved in myelination and axonal guidance (including NTRK1, MAG, and CNTNAP2, among others) to fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity in frontostriatal and thalamocortical pathways that traverse the ALIC. Polygenic risk for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder has been associated with altered microstructure and volume in the ALIC, with specific loci near genes such as ZNF804A, CACNA1C, and MIR137 contributing to variance in this region’s properties in imaging‑genetics cohorts. Variants in serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) and dopamine system genes (e.g., DRD2) have been related to ALIC integrity and functional outcomes in disorders such as obsessive–compulsive disorder and treatment‑resistant depression, consistent with the ALIC’s role as a target in deep brain stimulation. In addiction and impulsivity traits, GWAS and candidate‑gene imaging studies have linked allelic variation in genes related to synaptic plasticity (e.g., BDNF, GRIN2B) to structural and connectivity differences in the internal capsule’s anterior limb. Overall, convergent genetic evidence supports the ALIC as a key white matter hub whose microstructural variability is partly genetically determined and contributes to susceptibility for major psychiatric disorders, cognitive control variation, and treatment response phenotypes.
Overview generated by GPT-4o (2026).
Region ID: 17
Hemisphere: bilateral
Atlas: JHU ICBM labels 2mm
Full Quality Version: Download MP4
Full Quality Version: Download MP4
Wali Sidiqyar*, Gaurav Rudravaram*, Elyssa M. McMaster, Trent M. Schwartz, Adam M. Saunders, Kurt G. Schilling, Bennett A. Landman "Introducing SPINS: A Shared Public Visualization Library of Neuroanatomical Structures." Medical Imaging with Deep Learning- short paper
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