Gigantocellular Neurons Awaken the Brain from Deep Pharmacologically-Induced Coma

A Platform for Brain-wide Volumetric Functional Ultrasound Imaging and Analysis of Circuit Dynamics in Awake Mice

“…In both hemispheres, we showed a prolonged activity correlated with repositioning of the animal for up to 20 s after water delivery in both the SSpll and -tr (trunk) and the primary and secondary motor cortices (MOp/s; 30-45 s; Figure 5F). Moreover, we observed activation in multiple thalamic regions (TH), which are relays of motor and sensory information, and in several parts of the caudoputamen (CP), including the ventrolateral area, which is well known to participate in the control of the orofacial movements and forepaw usage accompanying feeding behavior (Pisa, 1988), as well as in several nuclei of the reticular activating system (RAS), including the gigantocellular reticular nucleus (GRN), which plays a crucial role in maintaining behavioral arousal (Gao et al, 2019).…”

Structural and functional organization of the midline and intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus

“…As described, ILt nuclei receive a vast and diverse array of input from the brainstem, particularly from the brainstem RF, and, in turn, are the source of projections to the prefrontal, sensory, and motor cortices. This initially led to the view, subsequently supported, that ILt bridges the effects of the brainstem on the cortex -or is an integral part of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS), responsible for states of arousal/consciousness (Moruzzi and Magoun, 1949;Jones, 2003;Yeo et al, 2013;Gao et al, 2019). In an early study, Glenn and Steriade (1982) reported that CL neurons in cats, which were activated by midbrain RF stimulation and antidromically driven from the cortex, fired at high tonic rates of activity in waking (W) and REM sleep and at low rates in slow wave sleep (SWS).…”