Thalamic amnesia after infarct: The role of the mammillothalamic tract and mediodorsal nucleus

Pergola, Giulio; Danet, Lola; Barbeau, Emmanuel J.; Eustache, Pierre; Planton, Mélanie; Raposo, Nicolas; Sibon, Igor; Albucher, Jean‐François; Bonneville, Fabrice; Péran, Patrice; Pariente, Jérémie

doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000002730

“…In contrast, lesioning a thalamic subregion with a specific cognitive function should have a more limited effect. Past studies have found that lesions to the human thalamus are associated with a wide range of cognitive impairments, including executive dysfunction ( Hwang et al, 2020 ; Liebermann et al, 2013 ), amnesia ( Graff-Radford et al, 1990 ; Pergola et al, 2016 ; von Cramon et al, 1985 ), aphasia ( Crosson et al, 1986 ; Graff-Radford et al, 1984 ), and attention deficits ( de Bourbon-Teles et al, 2014 ; Snow et al, 2009 ). However, it is not clear whether deficits reported in prior studies each localize to distinct thalamic regions, or whether a restricted lesion to a hub region can be associated with widespread effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuropsychological evidence of multi-domain network hubs in the human thalamus

Hwang

¹

,

Shine

²

,

Bruss

³

et al. 2021

eLife

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Hubs in the human brain support behaviors that arise from brain network interactions. Previous studies have identified hub regions in the human thalamus that are connected with multiple functional networks. However, the behavioral significance of thalamic hubs has yet to be established. Our framework predicts that thalamic subregions with strong hub properties are broadly involved in functions across multiple cognitive domains. To test this prediction, we studied human patients with focal thalamic lesions in conjunction with network analyses of the human thalamocortical functional connectome. In support of our prediction, lesions to thalamic subregions with stronger hub properties were associated with widespread deficits in executive, language, and memory functions, whereas lesions to thalamic subregions with weaker hub properties were associated with more limited deficits. These results highlight how a large-scale network model can broaden our understanding of thalamic function for human cognition.

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“…In contrast, lesioning a thalamic subregion with a specific cognitive function should have a more limited effect. Past studies have found that lesions to the human thalamus are associated with a wide range of cognitive impairments, including executive dysfunction (Hwang et al, 2020;Liebermann et al, 2013), amnesia (Graff-Radford et al, 1990;Pergola et al, 2016;von Cramon et al, 1985), aphasia (Crosson et al, 1986;Graff-Radford et al, 1984), and attention deficits (de Bourbon-Teles et al, 2014;Snow et al, 2009). However, it is not clear whether deficits reported in prior studies each localize to distinct thalamic regions, or whether a restricted lesion to a hub region can be associated with widespread effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuropsychological evidence of multi-domain network hubs in the human thalamus

Hwang

¹

,

Shine

²

,

Bruss

³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Hubs in the human brain support behaviors that arise from brain network interactions. Previous studies have identified hub regions in the human thalamus that are connected with multiple functional networks. However, the behavioral significance of thalamic hubs has yet to be established. Our framework predicts that thalamic subregions with strong hub properties are broadly involved in functions across multiple cognitive domains. To test this prediction, we studied human patients with focal thalamic lesions in conjunction with network analyses of the human thalamocortical functional connectome. In support of our prediction, lesions to thalamic subregions with stronger hub properties were associated with widespread deficits in executive, language, and memory functions, whereas lesions to thalamic subregions with weaker hub properties were associated with more limited deficits. These results highlight how a large-scale network model can broaden our understanding of thalamic function for human cognition.

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“…It can be achieved through a histological atlas [108] and requires normalization of the MRI into atlas-standardized space. Its accuracy is limited to the resolution of both, MRI and atlas, and does not account for intersubject variability of shape and volume for each nucleus, especially in patients [109] .…”

Section: Thalamic Stroke Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Regulatory Role of the Human Mediodorsal Thalamus

Pergola

¹

,

Danet

²

,

Pitel

³

et al. 2018

Trends in Cognitive Sciences

Self Cite

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The function of the human mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD) has so far eluded a clear definition in terms of specific cognitive processes and tasks. Although it was at first proposed to play a role in long-term memory, a set of recent studies in animals and humans has revealed a more complex, and broader, role in several cognitive functions. The MD seems to play a multifaceted role in higher cognitive functions together with the prefrontal cortex and other cortical and subcortical brain areas. Specifically, we propose that the MD is involved in the regulation of cortical networks especially when the maintenance and temporal extension of persistent activity patterns in the frontal lobe areas are required.

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Thalamic amnesia after infarct: The role of the mammillothalamic tract and mediodorsal nucleus

Cited by 10 publications

References 5 publications

Neuropsychological evidence of multi-domain network hubs in the human thalamus

Neuropsychological evidence of multi-domain network hubs in the human thalamus

Neuropsychological evidence of multi-domain network hubs in the human thalamus

The Regulatory Role of the Human Mediodorsal Thalamus

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