Paying attention to the thalamic reticular nucleus

Güillery, R. W.; Feig, Sherry L.; Lozsádi, Dora A.

doi:10.1016/s0166-2236(97)01157-0

Cited by 360 publications

(232 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The SMART model proposes functional roles for both the specific and nonspecific projections of the TRN (Figures 2b and 2e). The specific inhibitory projections of the TRN to the LGN (Guillery et al 1998;Guillery and Harting, 2003) provide a detailed anatomical realization of the ART matching process that suppresses bottom-up inputs that mismatch cortical top-down excitatory expectations. In particular, the top-down excitatory on-center, adaptive pathway from layer 6 II to LGN core cells is supplemented by a TRN-mediated inhibitory offsurround (Figures 2b and 5).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spikes, synchrony, and attentive learning by laminar thalamocortical circuits

2008

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The nonspecific pathway may also help to regulate modality-specific attention during reset episodes (Crick, 1984;Guillery et al, 1998;Montero, 1997;Weese et al, 1999). In particular, Crabtree and Isaac (2002) have shown that nonspecific thalamic nuclei which subserve different modalities are linked by mutually inhibitory interactions.…”

Section: 21mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spikes, synchrony, and attentive learning by laminar thalamocortical circuits

2008

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“…(i) Electrical stimulation of the BF caused auditory gating in the HVC by exciting the fibers of passage from the Uva. (ii) Chemical stimulation of the VP region by microinjections of glutamate could have stimulated the RSd, which is located right next to the cells in the VP area and is known to receive excitatory glutamatergic inputs (17). Stimulation of the RSd could have then influenced the Uva, to which it projects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By this model, thalamic cells can fire in either a ''tonic'' or ''burst'' fashion, which is either permissive or restrictive, respectively, to the flow of information into the cortex (41). In their review, Guillery et al (17) describe the mammalian reticular nucleus as being subdivided into distinct visual-, somatosensory-, and auditory-specific sectors. Relevant to our study, a recent electrophysiological experiment using paired tones in anesthetized rats has clearly shown auditory gating in the auditory portion of the reticular formation (42).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connections of thalamic modulatory centers to the vocal control system of the zebra finch

Akutagawa

Konishi

2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The vocal control system of zebra finches shows auditory gating in which neuronal responses to the individual bird's own song vary with behavioral states such as sleep and wakefulness. However, we know neither the source of gating signals nor the anatomical connections that could link the modulatory centers of the brain with the song system. Two of the song-control nuclei in the forebrain, the HVC (used as the proper name) and the interfacial nucleus of the nidopallium, both show auditory gating, and they receive input from the uvaeform nucleus (Uva) in the thalamus. We used a combination of anterograde and retrograde tracing methods to show that the dorsal part of the reticular formation and the medial habenula (MHb) project to the Uva. We also show by choline acetyl transferase immunohistochemistry that the MHb is cholinergic and sends cholinergic fibers to the Uva. Our findings suggest that the Uva might serve as a hub to coordinate neuromodulatory input into the song system. auditory gating ͉ cholinergic ͉ song system ͉ thalamus T he song system is a discrete, interconnected series of brain nuclei in songbirds that controls singing, which is a learned vocal behavior ( Fig. 1) (1). In addition to displaying song motor activity, neurons of most song nuclei selectively respond to playback of the individual bird's own song (BOS) (2). Responses to the BOS are not created de novo in each song nucleus (3) but are relayed from the HVC to a vocal motor pathway that includes the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) and the tracheosyringeal part of the hypoglossal nucleus. Auditory information also is transmitted from the HVC to an anterior forebrain pathway that includes area X within the songbird medial striatum; the nucleus dorsolateralis anterior thalami, pars medialis; the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium; and the RA. The source of auditory input to the HVC is thought to be the interfacial nucleus of the nidopallium (NIf), in which selectivity for the BOS is not as exclusive as in the HVC (4). Both the degree and selectivity of BOS-evoked responses in the HVC vary with natural and induced behavioral states such as sleeping, wakefulness, and anesthesia. This phenomenon is called ''auditory gating'' (5) and provides evidence that links the modulation of auditory input with the vocal control system. The first site of gating in the chain of song nuclei is thought to be the NIf (6). However, little is known about the source of signals that control gating in the NIf. Although several candidate sources for neural modulation have been postulated (7,8), the connections between these areas and the song system remain tenuous. The present study provides anatomical evidence that the uvaeform nucleus (Uva), which projects to both the NIf and HVC, receives cholinergic fibers from neurons in the medial habenula (MHb) and also afferents from the nucleus reticularis superior, pars dorsalis (RSd). These thalamic areas are neuromodulatory centers in other vertebrates, suggesting that the Uva in songbirds ma...

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“…TRN can be divided into five modality-specific sectors. Each sector is defined by the specific relays in thalamus to which they project, the origin of the cortical and thalamic collaterals they receive, and their physiology (Carman et al, 1964;Jones, 1975;Ohara and Lieberman, 1985) (for review, see Guillery et al, 1998;Crabtree, 1999;Pinault, 2004). Visual TRN in the primate receives input from the visual thalamic relay [the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)] via LGN axon collaterals projecting to primary visual cortex (V1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attentional Modulation of Thalamic Reticular Neurons

McAlonan

Cavanaugh²,

Wurtz³

2006

J. Neurosci.

207

156

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The major pathway for visual information reaching cerebral cortex is through the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus. Acting on this vital relay is another thalamic nucleus, the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN). This nucleus receives topographically organized collaterals from both thalamus and cortex and sends similarly organized projections back to thalamus. The inputs to the TRN are excitatory, but the output back to the thalamic relay is inhibitory, providing an ideal organization for modulating visual activity during early processing. This functional architecture led Crick in 1984 to hypothesize that TRN serves to direct a searchlight of attention to different regions of the topographic map; however, despite the substantial influence of this hypothesis, the activity of TRN neurons has never been determined during an attention task. We have determined the nature of the response of visual TRN neurons in awake monkeys, and the modulation of that response as the monkeys shifted attention between visual and auditory stimuli. Visual TRN neurons had a strong (194 spikes/s) and fast (25 ms latency) transient increase of activity to spots of light falling in their receptive fields, as well as high background firing rate (45 spikes/s). When attention shifted to the spots of light, the amplitude of the transient visual response typically increased, whereas other neuronal response characteristics remained unchanged. Thus, as predicted previously, TRN activity is modified by shifts of visual attention, and these attentional changes could influence visual processing in LGN via the inhibitory connections back to the thalamus.

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Paying attention to the thalamic reticular nucleus

Cited by 360 publications

References 40 publications

Spikes, synchrony, and attentive learning by laminar thalamocortical circuits

Spikes, synchrony, and attentive learning by laminar thalamocortical circuits

Connections of thalamic modulatory centers to the vocal control system of the zebra finch

Attentional Modulation of Thalamic Reticular Neurons

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