The posterior nucleus of the hypothalamus is one of the many nuclei that make up the

hypothalamic The hypothalamus () is a part of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus i ...

region of the

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a ve ...

. Its functions include elevation of blood pressure, pupillary dilation, and shivering or body heat conservation (

thermoregulation Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

). Damage or destruction of this nucleus causes hypothermia. Descending efferents from the nucleus synapse on the sympathetic neurons of the spinal cord, which exist in the thoracic and lumbar regions in the lateral horns.

References

Hypothalamus {{Neuroanatomy-stub