The tuber cinereum is a hollow eminence of gray matter situated between the mammillary bodies and the optic chiasm

Optic chiasm

The optic chiasm or optic chiasma is the part of the brain where the optic nerves partially cross...

. The tuber cinereum is part of the hypothalamus

Hypothalamus

The Hypothalamus is a portion of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions...

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Structure

Laterally it is continuous with the anterior perforated substance

Anterior perforated substance

The anterior perforated substance is an irregularly quadrilateral area in front of the optic tract and behind the olfactory trigone, from which it is separated by the fissure prima; medially and in front, it is continuous with the subcallosal gyrus; it is bounded laterally by the lateral stria of...

s and anteriorly with a thin lamina, the lamina terminalis

Lamina terminalis

The median portion of the wall of the fore-brain vesicle consists of a thin lamina, the lamina terminalis, which stretches from the interventricular foramen to the recess at the base of the optic stalk and contains the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis, which regulates the osmolarity of...

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The infundibulum

Pituitary stalk

The pituitary stalk is the connection between the hypothalamus and the posterior pituitary....

, a hollow conical process, projects from the tuber cinereum. The infundibulum extends forward and down where it is attached to the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland

Pituitary gland

In vertebrate anatomy the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 0.5 g , in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a dural fold...

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It houses the nuclei:

• tuberal nucleus
• tuberomamillary nucleus

Tuberomamillary nucleus

The tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN) is the sole source of histamine

Histamine

Histamine is an organic nitrogen compound involved in local immune responses as well as regulating physiological function in the gut and acting as a neurotransmitter. Histamine triggers the inflammatory response. As part of an immune response to foreign pathogens, histamine is produced by...

 in the brain.

Circadian rhythm

By its release of histamine, the tuberomamillary nucleus of the tuber cinereum helps to regulate the circadian cycle.