Anatomy
The ATR is a White Matter fiber bundle that connects the dorsomedial thalamic nucleus to the prefrontal cortex (mainly the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) through the anterior limb of the internal capsule
Here, You can see your Anterior Thalamic Radiations 3D projected inside your brain, open this website in your VR headset to visualize in Virtual Reality
Functions
The Anterior Thalamic Radiations are involved in executive functions and planning complex behaviors. The anterior nucleus of the thalamus receives information related to working memory from the hippocampus and projects it primarily to the anterior cingulate gyrus (14). ATR projections into the limbic system affect negative feelings such as sadness via the PANIC emotion system (15, 16). Previous DTT studies have demonstrated that individuals with bipolar disorder show significantly lower average fractional anisotropy values for ATR visualization compared with healthy controls.