The anterior thalamic nuclei and cognition: A role beyond space?

Nelson, Andrew John Dudley

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.047

Cited by 56 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 148 publications

(257 reference statements)

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“…Since this result indicates the involvment of hippocampal-anterior thalamic axis, there are two possibilities accounting for working memory precision improvement. First, ANT stimulation itself may improve memory directly as it is a critical component of the extended hippocampal system supporting memory [19,20]. Furthermore, ANT was reported to play a vital role in memory-guided attention [16,17,52].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anterior thalamic stimulation improves working memory precision judgments

Liu

et al. 2021

Brain Stimulation

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Background: The anterior nucleus of thalamus (ANT) has been suggested as an extended hippocampal system. The circuit of ANT and hippocampus has been widely demonstrated to be associated with memory function. Both lesions to each region and disrupting inter-regional information flow can induce working memory impairment. However, the role of this circuit in working memory precision remains unknown. Objective: To test the role of the hippocampal-anterior thalamic pathway in working memory precision, we delivered intracranially electrical stimulation to the ANT. We hypothesize that ANT stimulation can improve working memory precision. Methods: Presurgical epilepsy patients with depth electrodes in ANT and hippocampus were recruited to perform a color-recall working memory task. Participants were instructed to point out the color they were supposed to recall by clicking a point on the color wheel, while the intracranial EEG data were synchronously recorded. For randomly selected half trials, a bipolar electrical stimulation was delivered to the ANT electrodes. Results: We found that compared to non-stimulation trials, working memory precision judgements were significantly improved for stimulation trials. ANT electrical stimulation significantly increased spectral power of gamma (30e100 Hz) oscillations and decreased interictal epileptiform discharges (IED) in the hippocampus. Moreover, the increased gamma power during the pre-stimulus and retrieval period predicted the improvement of working memory precision judgements. Conclusion: ANT electrical stimulation can improve working memory precision judgements and modulate hippocampal gamma activity, providing direct evidence on the role of the human hippocampalanterior thalamic axis in working memory precision.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anterior thalamic stimulation improves working memory precision judgments

Liu

et al. 2021

Brain Stimulation

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“…We currently do not know the functional significance of these sublaminar differences, but they likely reflect the divergent attributes of these thalamic nuclei. While there is good evidence that nucleus reuniens acts as a hub coordinating medial -hippocampal interactions (Vertes et al, 2007;Mathiasen et al, 2020), the functional importance of anterior thalamic interactions with frontal areas is currently only very poorly understood (Nelson, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Direct Comparison of Afferents to the Rat Anterior Thalamic Nuclei and Nucleus Reuniens: Overlapping But Different

Mathiasen

Nelson

Amin

et al. 2021

eNeuro

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Both nucleus reuniens and the anterior thalamic nuclei are densely interconnected with medial cortical and hippocampal areas, connections that reflect their respective contributions to learning and memory. To better appreciate their comparative roles, pairs of different retrograde tracers were placed in these two thalamic sites in adult rats. Both thalamic sites receive modest cortical inputs from layer V that contrasted with much denser projections from layer VI. Despite frequent overlap in layer VI, ventral prefrontal and anterior cingulate inputs to nucleus reuniens were concentrated in the deepest sublayer (VIb). Meanwhile, inputs to the anterior thalamic nuclei originated more evenly from both sublayers VIa and VIb, with the result that they were often located more superficially than the projections to nucleus reuniens. Again, while the many hippocampal (subiculum) neurons projecting to nucleus reuniens and the anterior thalamic nuclei were partially intermingled within the deep cellular parts of the subiculum, cells projecting to nucleus reuniens consistently tended to lie even deeper, i.e., immediately adjacent to the alveus.Variable numbers of double-labelled cells were present in those cortical and subicular portions where the two cell populations intermingled, though they remained in a minority. Our data also show how projections to these two thalamic sites are organized in opposing dorsal/ventral and rostral/caudal gradients across both the cortex and hippocampal formation. While the anterior thalamic nuclei are preferentially innervated by dorsal cortical sites, more ventral frontal sites preferentially reach nucleus reuniens. These anatomical differences may underpin the complementary cognitive functions of these two thalamic areas. Significance statementBoth nucleus reuniens and the anterior thalamic nuclei link frontal cortical areas with the hippocampal formation. We show that the cortical and hippocampal projections to these thalamic sites show intermingled but opposing gradients of origin across the cerebral cortex (anterior thalamic -more dorsal, nucleus reuniens -more ventral), with their respective afferents typically arising from different neurons. There is also a repeated tendency across cortical areas for nucleus reuniens inputs to arise from the very deepest layer (VIb), while anterior thalamic inputs are often slightly more superficial, located across VIb and VIa. A similar depth distinction is again seen in the subiculum. These patterns indicate a separation of information reaching these two thalamic sites, alongside functional divisions within cortical layer VI. Case # CTB injection site FB injection site mPFC layer VI: Main distribution of retrogradely labelled cells mPFC layer V: (typically much fewer cells than VI) Distribution of retrogradely labelled cells in the subiculum #1

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“…The anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN) constitute a strategic node in a hippocampal-cingulate diencephalic-memory network (Aggleton et al, 2016;Bubb et al, 2017;Nelson, 2021;Vann et al, 2009). The ATN have reciprocal connections with at least three distinct memory structures, namely the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), retrosplenial cortex (RSC) and subicular regions of the hippocampal formation (HF) (Bubb et al, 2017;Mathiasen et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bifurcating Neurons In The Anterior Thalamic Nuclei

Pei

Tasananukorn

Wolff

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN) form a nodal point within a hippocampal-cingulate-diencephalic memory system. ATN projections to different brain structures are conventionally viewed as distinct, but ATN neurons may send collaterals to multiple structures. The anteromedial subregion (AM) is the primary source of efferents to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Using a dual-retrograde neurotracer strategy, we discovered bifurcating AM neurons for tracers placed in the mPFC when paired with other regions. A semi-quantitative analysis found a high proportion of AM neurons (~36%) showed collateral projections when the mPFC was paired with dorsal subiculum (dSub); 20% were evident for mPFC paired with caudal retrosplenial cortex (cRSC); and 6% was found for mPFC and ventral hippocampal formation (vHF). About 10% of bifurcating AM neurons was also identified when the mPFC was not included, that is, for cRSC with dSub, and cRSC with vHF. Similar percentages of bifurcating neurons were also found within the anterior region of the adjacent nucleus reuniens (Re). The high frequency of bifurcating neurons suggests a new perspective for ATN function. These neurons would facilitate direct coordination among distal neural ensembles to support episodic memory and may explain why the ATN is a critical region for diencephalic amnesia.

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The anterior thalamic nuclei and cognition: A role beyond space?

Cited by 56 publications

References 148 publications

Anterior thalamic stimulation improves working memory precision judgments

Anterior thalamic stimulation improves working memory precision judgments

A Direct Comparison of Afferents to the Rat Anterior Thalamic Nuclei and Nucleus Reuniens: Overlapping But Different

Bifurcating Neurons In The Anterior Thalamic Nuclei

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