The thalamus, a significant part of the diencephalon, is a symmetrical and bilateral central brain structure. The thalamus is subdivided into three major groups of nuclei based on their function: sensorimotor nuclei (or principal/relay nuclei), limbic nuclei and nuclei bridging these two domains. Anatomically, nuclei within the thalamus are described by their location, such as anterior, medial, lateral, ventral, and posterior. In this review, we summarize the role of medial and midline thalamus in cognition, ranging from learning and memory to flexible adaptation. We focus on the discoveries in animal models of alcohol-related brain damage, which identify the loss of neurons in the medial and midline thalamus as drivers of cognitive dysfunction associated with alcohol use disorders. Models of developmental ethanol exposure and models of adult alcohol-related brain damage and are compared and contrasted, and it was revealed that there are similar (anterior thalamus) and different (intralaminar [adult exposure] versus ventral midline [developmental exposure]) thalamic pathology, as well as disruptions of thalamo-hippocampal and thalamo-cortical circuits. The final part of the review summarizes approaches to recover alcohol-related brain damage and cognitive and behavioral outcomes. These approaches include pharmacological, nutritional and behavioral interventions that demonstrated the potential to mitigate alcohol-related damage. In summary, the medial/midline thalamus is a significant contributor to cognition function, which is also sensitive to alcohol-related brain damage across the life span, and plays a role in alcohol-related cognitive dysfunction.

丘脑是间脑的重要组成部分，是对称的双侧中枢脑结构。丘脑根据其功能分为三大类核团：感觉运动核团（或主要/中​​继核团）、边缘核团和桥接这两个域的核团。在解剖学上，丘脑内的核团通过其位置来描述，例如前部、内侧、外侧、腹侧和后部。在这篇综述中，我们总结了内侧和中线丘脑在认知中的作用，从学习和记忆到灵活适应。我们重点关注与酒精相关的脑损伤动物模型的发现，该模型确定丘脑内侧和中线神经元的丧失是与酒精使用障碍相关的认知功能障碍的驱动因素。对发育性乙醇暴露模型和成人酒精相关脑损伤模型进行比较和对比，发现丘脑病理学存在相似（前丘脑）和不同（层板内[成人暴露]与腹侧中线[发育暴露]） ，以及丘脑-海马和丘脑-皮质回路的破坏。综述的最后部分总结了恢复酒精相关脑损伤以及认知和行为结果的方法。这些方法包括药理学、营养和行为干预措施，已证明有减轻酒精相关损害的潜力。总之，内侧/中线丘脑是认知功能的重要贡献者，在整个生命周期中对酒精相关的脑损伤也很敏感，并在酒精相关的认知功能障碍中发挥作用。