Thalamic reticular nucleus

Social memory has been developed in humans and other animals to recognize familiar conspecifics and is essential for their survival and reproduction. Here, we demonstrated that parvalbumin-positive neurons in the sensory thalamic reticular nucleus (sTRNPvalb ) are necessary and sufficient for mice to memorize conspecifics. sTRNPvalb neurons receiving glutamatergic projections from the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) transmit individual information by inhibiting the parafascicular thalamic nucleus (PF). Mice in which the PPCCaMKII →sTRNPvalb →PF circuit was inhibited exhibited a disrupted ability to discriminate familiar conspecifics from novel ones...

The primary visual cortex (V1) is one of the most studied regions of the brain and is characterized by its specialized and laminated layer 4 in human and non-human primates. However, studies aiming to harmonize the definition of the cortical layers and borders of V1 across rodents and primates are very limited. This article attempts to identify and harmonize the molecular markers and connectional patterns that can consistently link corresponding cortical layers of V1 and borders across mammalian species and ages...

INTRODUCTION: Subjective tinnitus, the perception of sound without an external acoustic source, is often subsequent to noise-induced hearing loss or ototoxic medications. The condition is believed to result from neuroplastic alterations in the auditory centers, characterized by heightened spontaneous neural activities and increased synchrony due to an imbalance between excitation and inhibition. However, the role of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), a structure composed exclusively of GABAergic neurons involved in thalamocortical oscillations, in the pathogenesis of tinnitus remains largely unexplored...

The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) is a brain region that influences vital neurobehavioral processes, including executive functioning and the generation of sleep rhythms. TRN dysfunction underlies hyperactivity, attention deficits, and sleep disturbances observed across various neurodevelopmental disorders. A specialized sarco-endoplasmic reticulum calcium (Ca2+ ) ATPase 2 (SERCA2)-dependent Ca2+  signaling network operates in the dendrites of TRN neurons to regulate their bursting activity. Phospholamban (PLN) is a prominent regulator of SERCA2 with an established role in myocardial Ca2 + -cycling...

Electrical synapses are essential components of neural circuits. Neuronal signal transduction across electrical synapses is primarily mediated by gap junction channels composed of Connexin36 (Cx36), the lack of which causes impaired electrical coupling between certain neurons including cortical interneurons and thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) neurons. However, the structural basis underlying Cx36 function and assembly remains elusive. Recently, Lee et al. reported cryo-EM structures of Cx36, thus provided first insights of its gating mechanism...

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Sleep is a brain state characterised by a low vigilance level and diminished consciousness. Reaction to and processing of external stimuli is attenuated in sleep. During sleep, the reticular thalamic nucleus reduces the flow of sensory activity to the cerebral cortex through inhibition of the thalamus. This sensory gating process facilitates sleep. After reaching the afferent layers of primary cortex, the reduced sensory flow is adjusted, gained, and processed within various cortical layers before being transferred by the corticofugal system back to appropriate subdivisions of the thalamus as feedback...

The perigeniculate nucleus (PGN) is a visual part of the thalamic reticular nucleus modulating the information transfer between the lateral geniculate nucleus and the visual cortex. This study focused on the postnatal development of the PGN in cats, using the SMI-32 antibody, which recognizes non-phosphorylated heavy-chain neurofilaments responsible for neuronal structural maturation and is also used as a marker for motion processing, or Y, stream. We questioned whether transient neuronal populations exist in the PGN and can they possibly be related to the Y processing stream...

Loss of inhibition is suggested to cause pathological pain symptoms. Indeed, some human case reports suggest that lesions including the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) which provides major inhibitory inputs to other thalamic nuclei, may induce thalamic pain, a type of neuropathic pain. In support, recent studies demonstrated that activation of GABAergic neurons in the TRN reduces nociceptive responses in mice, reiterating the importance of the TRN in gating nociception. However, whether biochemically distinct neuronal types in the TRN differentially contribute to gating nociception has not been investigated...

The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) inhibits sensory thalamocortical relay neurons and is a key regulator of sensory attention as well as sleep and wake states. Recent developments have identified two distinct genetic subtypes of TRN neurons, calbindin-expressing (CB) and somatostatin-expressing (SOM) neurons. These subtypes differ in localization within TRN, electrophysiological properties, and importantly, targeting of thalamocortical relay channels. CB neurons send inhibition to and receive excitation from first-order thalamic relay nuclei, while SOM neurons send inhibition to and receive excitation from higher-order thalamic areas...

Coupled neural network models are playing an increasingly important part in the modulation of absence seizures today. However, it is currently unclear how basal ganglia, corticothalamic network and pedunculopontine nucleus can coordinate with each other to develop a whole coupling circuit, theoretically. In addition, it is still difficult to select effective parameters of electrical stimulation on the regulation of absence seizures in clinical trials. Therefore, to develop a coupled model and reduce computation cost, a new model constructed by a simplified basal ganglion, two corticothalamic circuits and a pedunculopontine nucleus was proposed...

The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) sends dense projections to the shell of the nucleus accumbens (NAcSh), dorsolateral region of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTDL) and the lateral region of central nucleus of the amygdala (CeL). Projection specific modulation of these pathways has been shown to regulate appetitive and aversive behavioral responses. The present investigation applied an intersectional monosynaptic rabies tracing approach to quantify the brain-wide sources of afferent input to PVT neurons that primarily project to the NAcSh, BSTDL and CeL...

The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) is a critical brain region that greatly influences vital neurobehavioral processes, including executive functioning and the generation of sleep rhythms. Recently, TRN dysfunction was suggested to underlie hyperactivity, attention deficits, and sleep disturbances observed across various devastating neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, schizophrenia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Notably, a highly specialized sarco- endoplasmic reticulum calcium (Ca 2+ ) ATPase 2 (SERCA2)-dependent Ca 2+ signaling network operates in the dendrites of TRN neurons to regulate their high-frequency bursting activity...

UNLABELLED: The thalamocortical system plays an important role in consciousness. How anesthesia modulates the thalamocortical interactions is not completely known.  We simultaneously recorded local field potentials(LFPs) in thalamic reticular nucleus(TRN) and ventroposteromedial thalamic nucleus(VPM), and electrocorticographic(ECoG) activities in frontal and occipital cortices in freely moving rats ( n  = 11). We analyzed the changes in thalamic and cortical local spectral power and connectivities, which were measured with phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), coherence and multivariate Granger causality, at the states of baseline, intravenous infusion of propofol 20, 40, 80 mg/kg/h and after recovery of righting reflex...

We developed a detailed model of macaque auditory thalamocortical circuits, including primary auditory cortex (A1), medial geniculate body (MGB), and thalamic reticular nucleus, utilizing the NEURON simulator and NetPyNE tool. The A1 model simulates a cortical column with over 12,000 neurons and 25 million synapses, incorporating data on cell-type-specific neuron densities, morphology, and connectivity across six cortical layers. It is reciprocally connected to the MGB thalamus, which includes interneurons and core and matrix-layer-specific projections to A1...

Chronic pain is highly prevalent and is linked to a broad range of comorbidities, including sleep disorders. Epidemiological and clinical evidence suggests that chronic sleep disruption (CSD) leads to heightened pain sensitivity, referred to as CSD-induced hyperalgesia. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) has unique integrative functions in sensory processing, attention/arousal and sleep spindle generation. We report that the TRN played an important role in CSD-induced hyperalgesia in mice, through its projections to the ventroposterior region of the thalamus...

Small conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels are well-known regulators of neuronal excitability. In the thalamic hub, SK2 channels act as pacemakers of thalamic reticular neurons, which play a key role in the thalamocortical circuit. Several disease-linked genes are highly enriched in these neurons, including genes known to be associated with schizophrenia and attentional disorders, which could affect neuronal firing. The present study assessed the effect of pharmacological modulation of SK channels in the firing pattern and intrinsic properties of thalamic reticular neurons by performing whole cell patch clamp recordings in brain slices...

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the functional role of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic inhibition in suppressing epileptic brain activities such as spike-wave discharge (SWD), we recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) in knockout rats for Glutamate decarboxylase 1 ( Gad1 ), which encodes one of the two GABA-synthesizing enzymes in mammals. We also examined how anti-epileptic drug valproate (VPA) acts on the SWDs present in Gad1 rats and affects GABA synthesis in the reticular thalamic nucleus (RTN), which is known to play an essential role in suppressing SWD...

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) neuron provides a novel treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy via the induced electrical field (EFs). However, the mechanisms underlying EF effects remain unclear. This paper investigated how EFs regulate low-threshold dendritic Ca2+ (dCa) response and thus contribute to the input-output relationship of TRN cell. Our results showed that EFs modulate firing modes differently in a neuronal state-dependent manner. At the depolarized state, EFs only regulate the spike timing of a somatic stimulus-evoked single action potential (AP) with less contribution in the regulation of dCa response but could induce the transition between a dendritic stimulus-evoked single AP and a tonic burst of APs via the moderate regulation of dCa response...

A 76-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital for the treatment of acute cerebral infarction in the right temporal stem, right lateral thalamus, and right pulvinar regions. Although his overall cognitive function was almost normal, he exhibited reduced visual sensitivity in the homonymous lower left quadrant of the visual field, left unilateral spatial neglect (USN), and simultanagnosia. Left USN improved 4 months after the onset of infarction; however, simultanagnosia persisted. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of simultanagnosia caused by cerebral infarction in the right temporal stem, right lateral thalamus, and right pulvinar regions...