The thalamus as a monitor of motor outputs

Güillery, R. W.; Sherman, S. Murray

doi:10.1098/rstb.2002.1171

Cited by 109 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 92 publications

(110 reference statements)

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“…Our finding of distinct differences in the activity of layer V and VI CT neurons is consistent with the hypothesis of Sherman and Guillery (Guillery and Sherman, 2002;Guillery, 2003) regarding the role of the thalamus as a monitor of motor output. These authors suggested that layer V CT neurons provide the thalamus with feedforward information about the cortical output that have been sent to lower centers (an efference copy of the output).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Three Channels of Corticothalamic Communication during Locomotion

Sirota¹,

Swadlow²,

Beloozerova³

2005

J. Neurosci.

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We studied the flow of corticothalamic (CT) information from the motor cortex of the cat during two types of locomotion: visually guided (cortex dependent) and unguided. Spike trains of CT neurons in layers V (CT5s) and VI (CT6s) were examined. All CT5s had fastconducting axons (Ͻ2 ms conduction time), and nearly all showed step-phase-related activity (94%), sensory receptive fields (100%), and spontaneous activity (100%). In contrast, conduction times along CT6 axons were much slower, with bimodal peaks occurring at 6 and 32 ms. Remarkably, almost none of the slowest conducting CT6s showed step-related activity, sensory receptive fields, or spontaneous activity. As a group, these enigmatic neurons were all but silent. Some of the CT6s with moderately conducting axons showed step-related behavior (35%), and this response was more precisely timed than that of the CT5s. We propose distinct functional roles for these diverse corticothalamic populations.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Three Channels of Corticothalamic Communication during Locomotion

Sirota¹,

Swadlow²,

Beloozerova³

2005

J. Neurosci.

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“…These anatomical findings are similar to recent results from the sensory domain that have inspired two influential hypotheses: first, that the thalamus aids in cortico-cortical communication and second, that it receives two differing kinds of projections ('drivers' versus 'modulators') from the cortex [51][52][53]. Much more neurophysiological research is needed to test these hypotheses, especially as they pertain to motor cortex and thalamus.…”

Section: The Pathway Originating In the Cerebellumsupporting

confidence: 83%

The role of the thalamus in motor control

Sommer

2003

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

181

125

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Two characteristics of the thalamus -its apparently simple relay function and its daunting multinuclear structure -have been customarily viewed as good reasons to study something else. Yet, now that many other brain regions have been explored and neurophysiologists are turning to questions of how larger circuits operate, these two characteristics are starting to seem more attractive. First, the relay nature of thalamic neurons means that recording from them, like tapping into a wire, can reveal the signals carried by specific circuits. Second, the concentration of like relay neurons into nuclei means that inactivating or stimulating them can efficiently test the functions of the circuits. Recent studies implementing these principles have revealed pathways through the thalamus that contribute to generating movements and to monitoring one's own actions (corollary discharge).

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“…Everything we know about the world necessarily results from the inflow of such sensory information. The same may be true about movement information; it seems likely that much, perhaps all, of the precise information our brain receives regarding our actions comes from feedback to the cerebral cortex through the thalamus (Guillery and Sherman, 2002a). But although a great deal of information has accumulated about the function of thalamic neurons conveying the qualities and receptive fields of sensory input, little is known about the characteristics and movement fields of thalamic neurons that monitor our actions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…1). The study does not specifically consider modulators further although their interactions, particularly from the thalamic reticular nucleus (Montero, 1997(Montero, , 2000McAlonan et al, 2000;McAlonan and Wurtz, 2004) Guillery and Sherman (2002a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers from the deep: the contribution of collicular input to thalamocortical processing

Wurtz

Sommer

Cavanaugh

2005

Progress in Brain Research

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A traditional view of the thalamus is that it is a relay station which receives sensory input and conveys this information to cortex. This sensory input determines most of the properties of first order thalamic neurons, and so is said to drive, rather than modulate, these neurons. This holds as a rule for first order thalamic nuclei, but in contrast, higher order thalamic nuclei receive much of their driver input back from cerebral cortex. In addition, higher order thalamic neurons receive inputs from subcortical movement-related centers. In the terminology popularized from studies of the sensory system, can we consider these ascending motor inputs to thalamus from subcortical structures to be modulators, subtly influencing the activity of their target neurons, or drivers, dictating the activity of their target neurons? This chapter summarizes relevant evidence from neuronal recording, inactivation, and stimulation of pathways projecting from the superior colliculus through thalamus to cerebral cortex. The study concludes that many inputs to the higher order nuclei of the thalamus from subcortical oculomotor areas -from the superior colliculus and probably other midbrain and pontine regions -should be regarded as motor drivers analogous to the sensory drivers at the first order thalamic nuclei. These motor drivers at the thalamus are viewed as being at the top of a series of feedback loops that provide information on impending actions, just as sensory drivers provide information about the external environment.

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The thalamus as a monitor of motor outputs

Cited by 109 publications

References 92 publications

Three Channels of Corticothalamic Communication during Locomotion

Three Channels of Corticothalamic Communication during Locomotion

The role of the thalamus in motor control

Drivers from the deep: the contribution of collicular input to thalamocortical processing

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