Linked Life Data

21543609

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/21543609

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
18
pubmed:dateCreated
2011-5-5
pubmed:abstractText
Most axons connecting the thalamus and cortex in both directions pass through the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), a thin layer of GABAergic cells adjacent to the thalamus, and innervate neurons there. The TRN, therefore, is in a strategic location to regulate thalamocortical communication. We recorded neurons of the somatosensory region of the TRN in a thalamocortical slice preparation and studied the spatial organization of their thalamic input using laser scanning photostimulation. We show that the thalamoreticular pathway is organized topographically for most neurons. The somatosensory region of the TRN can be organized into three tiers. From the inner (thalamoreticular) border to the outer, in a manner roughly reciprocal to the reticulothalamic pathway, each of these tiers receives its input from one of the somatosensory relays of the thalamus--the posterior medial, ventroposterior medial, and ventroposterior lateral nuclei. What is surprising is that approximately a quarter of the recorded neurons received input from multiple thalamic regions usually located in different nuclei. These neurons distribute evenly throughout the thickness of the TRN. Our results, therefore, suggest that there exist a subpopulation of TRN neurons that receive convergent inputs from multiple thalamic sources and engage in more complex patterns of inhibition of relay cells. We propose these neurons enable the TRN to act as an externally driven "searchlight" that integrates cortical and subcortical inputs and then inhibits or disinhibits specific thalamic relay cells, so that appropriate information can get through the thalamus to the cortex.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
1529-2401
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
4
pubmed:volume
31
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
6791-9
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2011
pubmed:articleTitle
Functional organization of the thalamic input to the thalamic reticular nucleus.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. ywlam@uchicago.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural