anterior commissure

anterior commissure (ac)

The term anterior commissure refers to a bundle of nerve fibers that cross the midline of the brain dorsally in the anterior hypothalamic region, ventral to the septal nuclei, and caudal to the median preoptic nucleus and nucleus of the anterior commissure; it's caudal aspect protrudes into the third ventricle. Identified by topology, it is one of three bundles referred to as forebrain commissures. It is composed of two parts: the olfactory limb of the anterior commissure and the posterior limb of the anterior commissure ( Carpenter-1983 ). Some authors distinguish a third component, the basal telencephalic commissure ( Lamantia-1990 ). It is found in the human ( Carpenter-1983 ), the macaque ( Martin-2000 ), the rat ( Swanson-2004 ) and the mouse ( Hof-2000 ). It provides a prominent landmark for ventriculography and MRI. Thus, a point on or within the anterior commissure at the midline is commonly designated the zero point of stereotaxic space in brain atlases, including Talairach-1988 for the human, Martin-2000 for the macaque, and Bowden-2011 for the mouse.

Also known as: anterior commissure, Commissura anterior, Commissura anterior cerebri, rostral commissure, paleocortical commissure, precommissure

NeuroNames ID: 205

All Names & Sources

1 of 19

Showing 19 synonym(s) - Use arrows to navigate

Showing 19 synonym(s)

Name:

передняя спайка

Language:

Russian

Organism:

human

Source:

Baev-2000

Citation:

Moskva: Meditsina, 2000.

Source Title:

Magnitno-Resonansnaia Tomografiia Golovnogo Mozga: Normal'naia Anatomiia

Name:

Language:

acronym

Organism:

human

Source:

Mai-1997

Citation:

San Diego: Academic Press, 1997

Source Title:

Atlas of the Human Brain

Name:

передняя комиссура

Language:

Russian

Organism:

human

Source:

Savel'ev-1996

Citation:

AREA XVII, Moscow, 1996.

Source Title:

Stereoskopicheskii Atlas Mozga Cheloveka

Name:

anterior commissure

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Source:

Carpenter-1983

Citation:

Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Co., 1983

Source Title:

Human Neuroanatomy

Name:

anterior commissure

Language:

English

Organism:

Macaca fascicularis

Source:

Szabo-1984

Citation:

J Comp Neurol 1984 Jan 10;222(2):265-300

Source Title:

A stereotaxic atlas of the brain of the cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis)

Name:

anterior commissure

Language:

English

Organism:

rat

Source:

Bowden-1997

Citation:

Source Title:

A digital Rosetta stone for primate brain terminology

Name:

Commissura anterior

Language:

Latin

Organism:

human

Source:

Nomina-1983

Citation:

Fifth Edition, Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1983

Source Title:

Nomina Anatomica

Name:

Commissura anterior

Language:

Latin

Organism:

Macaca fascicularis

Source:

Shantha-1968

Citation:

Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1968

Source Title:

A Stereotaxic Atlas Of The Java Monkey Brain (Macaca irus)

Name:

Commissura anterior cerebri

Language:

Latin

Organism:

human

Source:

Talairach-1988

Citation:

M. Rayport (Translator), Thieme Medical Publishers, New York, 1988

Source Title:

Co-Planar Stereotaxic Atlas of the Human Brain

Name:

commissure rostralis

Language:

Mixed

Organism:

human

Source:

Kretschmann-1992

Citation:

Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, 1992

Source Title:

Cranial Neuroimaging and Clinical Neuroanatomy

Name:

commissura anteriore

Language:

Italian

Organism:

human

Source:

Carpenter-1995

Citation:

EdiSes, s.r.l.- Napoli, 1995

Source Title:

Fondamenti di Neuroanatomia

Name:

белая спайка

Language:

Russian

Organism:

human

Source:

Sapin-1998

Citation:

Vol. 3, Moscow: Elista APP "Dzhangar", 1998

Source Title:

Anatomiia Cheloveka

Name:

comisura anterior

Language:

Spanish

Organism:

human

Source:

Carpenter-1994

Citation:

edicion 4, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore; traducción de Editorial Medica Panamericana, Buenos Aires, efectuada por el Dr. Alejandro Kaufman

Source Title:

Neuroanatomía Fundamentos

Name:

komisur anterior

Language:

Indonesian

Organism:

human

Source:

Noback-1982

Citation:

Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kedokteran EGC, 1982

Source Title:

Anatomi Susunan Saraf Manusia, Prinsip-Prinsip Dasar Neurobiologi

Name:

rostral commissure

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Source:

Williams-1997

Citation:

Virtual Hospital, University of Iowa Health Care, http://www.vh.org/Providers/Textbooks/BrainAnatomy/TOC.html

Source Title:

The Human Brain: Dissections of the Real Brain

Name:

commissure antérieure

Language:

French

Organism:

human

Source:

Duvernoy-1992

Citation:

Springer-Verlag, Paris, 1992

Source Title:

Le cerveau humain: Surface, coupes seriees tridimensionnelles et IRM

Name:

paleocortical commissure

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Source:

Raybaud-2010

Citation:

Neuroradiology 52:6:447-477.

Source Title:

The corpus callosum, the other great forebrain commissures, and the septum pellucidum: anatomy, development and malformation

Name:

Language:

acronym

Organism:

Macaca mulatta

Source:

Paxinos-2009a

Citation:

Amsterdam: Elsevier-Academic Press. 2009

Source Title:

The Rhesus Monkey Brain, Second Edition

Name:

precommissure

Language:

English

Organism:

Unspecified

Source:

Wikipedia-2024a

Citation:

Source Title:

Lamina terminalis

Illustrations

Showing 7 illustration(s)

dissection of
lateral aspect in
human

drawing of
medial aspect in
human

drawing of
coronal section in
human

labeled line drawings of
sagittal section in
Macaca fascicularis

multiple views of
3D reconstruction in
Macaca mulatta

surface view of
lateral aspect in
macaque

drawing of
all aspects in
macaque

Species With The Structure

Equivalent By	Human	Macaque	Rat	Mouse
Topology	Has The Structure	Has The Structure	Has The Structure	Has The Structure

1 of 7

Showing 7 record(s) - Use arrows to navigate

Showing 7 record(s)

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

anterior commissure

Source:

Carpenter-1983

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

Commissura anterior

Source:

Nomina-1983

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

Commissura anterior cerebri

Source:

Talairach-1988

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

rostral commissure

Source:

Williams-1997

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Macaca fascicularis (Macaca fascicularis)

Their Name:

anterior commissure

Source:

Szabo-1984

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Rattus (rat)

Their Name:

anterior commissure

Source:

Bowden-1997

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Mus (mouse)

Their Name:

anterior commissure

Source:

Hof-2000

Models Where It Appears

Structural CNS Model - Macaque

Brain structures of the macaque are illustrated in BrainInfo’s NeuroMaps macaque brain atlas. Structures are grouped by proximity in a hierarchy corresponding to the central nervous system hierarchy of NeuroNames ( Bowden-1995 Martin-2000 ). Structures in the NeuroMaps atlas are based on the segmentation of an MRI of the brain of a 3-year old male rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). The atlas is most useful for targeting structures for implantating electrodes and chemtrodes. Updated 29 Oct 2025.