The largest of the intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus, the CM is located within the internal medullary lamina in the center of the posterior thalamus and has a distinctive circular shape. It is involved mainly in the basal ganglia circuitry: CM receives major afferents from the striatum (caudate-putamen), has reciprocal connections with motor cortex, and also projects back to the striatum — perhaps the only external projection of the thalamus not to the neocortex!
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