Thalamocortical interactions in first- and higher order thalamic nuclei

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Thalamocortical interactions in first- and higher order thalamic nuclei Péter Barthó1*, István Ulbert2 and László Acsády1 1 Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungary 2 Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Hungary During natural sleep and anesthesia, neocortical activity is characterized by periods of synchronized activity alternating with periods of silence (up- and down-states). Despite being the most numerous input source and output target of the cortex, the relation of thalamus to synchronized cortical activity is not yet fully established. Thalamic nuclei differ in their connectivity; first order (FO) thalamic nuclei receive driving inputs from various subcortical centers whereas higher order (HO) nuclei are contacted by driving afferents arising from cortical layer V. Besides, all thalamic nuclei receive strong modulatory input from cortical layer VI. To investigate thalamocortical synchrony, we performed simultaneous multiple single-unit recordings in rats under urethane anesthesia in the somatosensory FO ventral postero-medial nucleus (VPM), the HO nucleus posterior (Po) and in the S1 cortex. The recordings were made using four-shank silicon probes, which could span different nuclei. The exact electrode position was determined by pre-labeling the probes with DiI. In Po, thalamic relay activity showed up-and down states, with majority of cells firing phase locked to cortical activity. In VPM, however, thalamic firing was weakly coupled to cortical up- and down states. Instead, the activity was dominated by local spindles, which were frequently restricted to one or two electrode shanks, and only occasionally spread to the neocortex. In the VPM another type of unit was also recorded with narrower spike waveforms, longer burst duration, and higher activity during spindles. These features indicate that they can potentially be the axon terminals of reticular thalamic neuron Relay cells and putative nRt terminals fired at different phases of spindle oscillations, with relay cells preceding nRt terminals. Our data demonstrate distinct population activity in first order, higher order and reticular thalamic nuclei. Conference: IBRO International Workshop 2010, Pécs, Hungary, 21 Jan - 23 Jan, 2010. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Sensory and motor systems Citation: Barthó P, Ulbert I and Acsády L (2010). Thalamocortical interactions in first- and higher order thalamic nuclei. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: IBRO International Workshop 2010. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.10.00062 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 21 Apr 2010; Published Online: 21 Apr 2010. * Correspondence: Péter Barthó, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, Hungary, bartho@koki.hu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Péter Barthó István Ulbert László Acsády Google Péter Barthó István Ulbert László Acsády Google Scholar Péter Barthó István Ulbert László Acsády PubMed Péter Barthó István Ulbert László Acsády Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.