ReviewThe Journal of comparative neurology2011
The Edinger-Westphal nucleus: a historical, structural, and functional perspective on a dichotomous terminology.
Review in The Journal of comparative neurology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
95 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 201 citations in OpenAlex.
- Investigations into the anatomical location, physiological function, clinical implications, and significance of the nucleus of Perlia.Acta neurologica Belgica · 2024Pooled it
- Stress, mood, and Parkinson's disease: selective dysregulation of corticotropin-releasing hormone and urocortin neurocircuits.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Parallel cholinergic circuit in oculomotor nucleus to control eye movements and REM sleep.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Little Known Facts, Controversies and Misconceptions About Cranial Motor Nuclei (and a New Classification for All Motoneurons, Cranial, and Spinal).The Journal of comparative neurology · 2026Review
- Age-dependent alterations of TRPA1 and urocortin 1 signaling in the Edinger-Westphal nucleus in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Immunoreactivity and distribution of Fos in the mouse brain following diverse general anesthetics.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Precerebellar paramedian tract cell groups connections: I. Oculomotor internuclear projections.Brain structure & function · 2025Article
- Trans-Synaptic Virus Tracing Reveals Reciprocal Connections of the Interpeduncular Nucleus With the Mood, Exteroceptive, Interoceptive, and Motor Control Systems.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2025Article
- Dangerous Alarming Diameter Assessment (DADA Index) in Which the Ratio of Iris Surface/Pupil Surface Size Is More Reliable than Pupil Diameter Measurement in Comatose Patients After Subarachnoid Haemorrhage: An Experimental Rabbit Model.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Neural Control of Vergence and Ocular Accommodation.Annual review of vision science · 2025Review
- Edinger-Westphal Urocortin-1 neurons regulate consumption and affect.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Midbrain ghrelin receptor signalling regulates binge drinking in a sex specific manner.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Functional optic tract rewiring via subtype- and target-specific axonal regeneration and presynaptic activity enhancement.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Disrupted functional connectome in a rodent model of autism during social isolation.Frontiers in neural circuits · 2025Article
- Neuromedin U Neurons in the Edinger-Westphal Nucleus Respond to Alcohol Without Interfering with the Urocortin 1 Response.Neurochemical research · 2024Article
- A Pilot Study to Improve Cognitive Performance and Pupil Responses in Mild Cognitive Impaired Patients Using Gaze-Controlled Gaming.Vision (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- On the Cranial Nerves.NeuroSci · 2024Review
- CNS sites controlling the gastric pyloric sphincter: Neuroanatomical and functional study in the rat.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2023Article
- Peptidergic and functional delineation of the Edinger-Westphal nucleus.Cell reports · 2023Article
- A Sleep-Specific Midbrain Target for Sevoflurane Anesthesia.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2023Article
35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 9 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The eponymous term nucleus of Edinger-Westphal (EW) has come to be used to describe two juxtaposed and somewhat intermingled cell groups of the midbrain that differ dramatically in their connectivity and neurochemistry. On one hand, the classically defined EW is the part of the oculomotor complex that is the source of the parasympathetic preganglionic motoneuron input to the ciliary ganglion (CG), through which it controls pupil constriction and lens accommodation. On the other hand, EW is applied to a population of centrally projecting neurons involved in sympathetic, consumptive, and stress-related functions. This terminology problem arose because the name EW has historically been applied to the most prominent cell collection above or between the somatic oculomotor nuclei (III), an assumption based on the known location of the preganglionic motoneurons in monkeys. However, in many mammals, the nucleus designated as EW is not made up of cholinergic, preganglionic motoneurons supplying the CG and instead contains neurons using peptides, such as urocortin 1, with diverse central projections. As a result, the literature has become increasingly confusing. To resolve this problem, we suggest that the term EW be supplemented with terminology based on connectivity. Specifically, we recommend that 1) the cholinergic, preganglionic neurons supplying the CG be termed the Edinger-Westphal preganglionic (EWpg) population and 2) the centrally projecting, peptidergic neurons be termed the Edinger-Westphal centrally projecting (EWcp) population. The history of this nomenclature problem and the rationale for our solutions are discussed in this review.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.