Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Isabella P. Fallon, Ryan N. Hughes, Francesco Paulo Ulloa Severino, Namsoo Kim, Clara M. Lawry, Glenn D. R. Watson, Marina Roshchina, Henry H. Yin
Summary: By using a continuous reward tracking task in freely moving mice and employing various techniques such as electrophysiology, optogenetics, and 3D motion capture, this study examined the role of the parafascicular (Pf) nucleus of the thalamus in behavior. The findings suggest that Pf neurons accurately represent velocity components and show a preference for same-side movements. The activity of Pf nucleus is crucial for self-initiated orienting behavior, as its output can specify detailed action parameters and provide guidance for orienting and steering during behavior.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Serena Becchi, Billy Chieng, Laura A. Bradfield, Roberto Capellan, Beatrice K. Leung, Bernard W. Balleine
Summary: The loss of neurons in the parafascicular thalamus and their inputs to dorsomedial striatum in Lewy body disease and Parkinson's disease dementia have been associated with neuroinflammation. The effects of this neuroinflammation on the function of striatal cholinergic interneurons and the encoding of action-outcome associations necessary for goal-directed action were investigated in rats. The study found that the neuroinflammation inhibited the activity of cholinergic interneurons and disrupted goal-directed control, but these effects could be rescued by administration of selegiline, which enhances the activity of adenosine triphosphatase in cholinergic interneurons.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Panna Hegedus, Katalin Sviatko, Balint Kiraly, Sergio Martinez-Bellver, Balazs Hangya
Summary: Basal forebrain cholinergic neurons have an important role in associative learning and processing stimuli that predict future outcomes. This study used calcium imaging and spiking recordings to investigate the impact of outcome probabilities on these neurons in mice. The results showed that the cholinergic neurons responded more strongly to sensory cues that were often paired with reward, and reward delivery activated the neurons, with surprising rewards generating a stronger response. The findings suggest that the cholinergic neurons differentially weigh predictions of positive and negative reinforcement, reflecting the relative salience of appetitive and aversive outcomes.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Eduardo Benarroch
Summary: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the functional organization of thalamic inputs to the basal ganglia, particularly the intralaminar nuclei targeting the striatum. The intralaminar nuclei, including the centromedian and parafascicular nuclei, provide abundant thalamic projections to the striatum and play a role in motor and nonmotor functions. Thalamostriatal projections have been studied in relation to attention, behavioral switching, reward responses, and motor control, and their abnormalities have been implicated in Parkinson's disease. The centromedian nucleus has also been explored as a therapeutic target for deep brain stimulation in other disorders such as epilepsy, Tourette syndrome, minimal conscious state, and chronic pain.
Article
Neurosciences
Lukasz Chrobok, Kamil Pradel, Marcelina Elzbieta Janik, Anna Magdalena Sanetra, Monika Bubka, Jihwan Myung, Amalia Ridla Rahim, Jasmin Daniela Klich, Jagoda Stanislawa Jeczmien-Lazur, Katarzyna Palus-Chramiec, Marian Henryk Lewandowski
Summary: This study demonstrates the intrinsic clock properties of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in male rats and mice, suggesting it may function as a light-entrainable oscillator with autonomous timekeeping mechanisms. The research identifies specific nuclei within the LGN showing core clock gene expression and circadian variation in neuronal activity, implying a more complex circadian timekeeping system beyond the central brain clock.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mahmoud Abdallat, Assel Saryyeva, Christian Blahak, Marc E. Wolf, Ralf Weigel, Thomas J. Loher, Joachim Runge, Hans E. Heissler, Thomas M. Kinfe, Joachim K. Krauss
Summary: Thalamic deep brain stimulation appears to be an effective treatment option for selected patients with severe and medically refractory pain. Long-term follow-up showed improvements in pain scores for most patients, with the best results seen in patients with facial pain, poststroke/central pain, or brachial plexus injury.
Review
Neurosciences
Dheeraj S. Roy, Ying Zhang, Michael M. Halassa, Guoping Feng
Summary: Recent studies using advanced expression profiling have revealed gene expression gradients within and across thalamic nuclei, redefining functional units of the thalamus. Thalamic subnetworks, defined by the intersection of genetics, connectivity, and computation, provide a more appropriate level of functional description.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Hussain Mubarak Al-Aamri, Helen R. Irving, Christopher Bradley, Terri Meehan-Andrews
Summary: Daunorubicin induces apoptosis in leukemic cells through both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways, with variations in sensitivities and timing of apoptotic responses observed among different cell lines. The lack of functional p53 may contribute to these differences and necessitates further exploration of alternative signaling mechanisms involved in apoptosis induction.
Review
Neurosciences
Francisco J. Martini, Teresa Guillamon-Vivancos, Veronica Moreno-Juan, Miguel Valdeolmillos, Guillermina Lopez-Bendito
Summary: Spontaneous activity in developing sensory circuits plays a crucial role in the construction and refinement of functional networks. Originating from various sensory structures, such as the thalamus and cortex, this activity is fundamental for sensory map formation and circuit plasticity. Current data suggest similarities between the developmental trajectory of brain activity in experimental models and humans, offering potential for early diagnosis of developmental disorders.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Dong Ah Lee, Ho-Joon Lee, Kang Min Park
Summary: This study investigated the alterations in individual thalamic nuclei volumes in patients with occipital lobe epilepsy compared with healthy controls, and analyzed the intrinsic thalamic network based on these volumes using graph theory. The results showed significant changes in the volumes of several thalamic nuclei in patients with OLE, especially increased volumes of the medial geniculate and suprageniculate nuclei, and decreased volumes of the parafascicular nuclei. These findings suggest the important role of the thalamus in the epileptic network of OLE.
BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kang Min Park, Keun Tae Kim, Dong Ah Lee, Yong Won Cho
Summary: This study aimed to compare the alterations of thalamic nuclei volumes and intrinsic thalamic network between patients with primary restless legs syndrome (RLS) and healthy controls. The results showed that the whole thalamic volume and volumes of specific nuclei were lower in RLS patients compared to healthy controls, and there were also differences in the intrinsic thalamic network between the two groups. These findings suggest the important role of the thalamus in the pathophysiology of RLS.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Elisabetta Iavarone, Jane Simko, Ying Shi, Marine Bertschy, Maria Garcia-Amado, Polina Litvak, Anna-Kristin Kaufmann, Christian O'Reilly, Oren Amsalem, Marwan Abdellah, Grigori Chevtchenko, Benoit Coste, Jean-Denis Courcol, Andras Ecker, Cyrille Favreau, Adrien Christian Fleury, Werner Van Geit, Michael Gevaert, Nadir Roman Guerrero, Joni Herttuainen, Genrich Ivaska, Samuel Kerrien, James G. King, Pramod Kumbhar, Patrycja Lurie, Ioannis Magkanaris, Vignayanandam Ravindernath Muddapu, Jayakrishnan Nair, Fernando L. Pereira, Rodrigo Perin, Fabien Petitjean, Rajnish Ranjan, Michael Reimann, Liviu Soltuzu, Mohameth Francois Sy, M. Anil Tuncel, Alexander Ulbrich, Matthias Wolf, Francisco Clasca, Henry Markram, Sean L. Hill
Summary: A detailed computational model of mouse somatosensory thalamus and thalamic reticular nucleus has been developed to simulate the biological connectivity of over 14,000 neurons and reproduce experimental findings in different brain states. The model suggests that inhibitory rebound enhances thalamic responses to specific frequencies during wakefulness and thalamic interactions are responsible for the characteristic changes in spindle oscillations. Changes in thalamic excitability control spindle frequency and incidence. The openly available model provides a new tool for studying the function and dysfunction of the thalamoreticular circuitry in various brain states.
Article
Neurosciences
Richa Awasthi, Naveen Chandra, Edi Barkai
Summary: Training rats in an olfactory discrimination task can accelerate learning and this is maintained at the cellular level by reducing the conductance of a specific current in the brain. This reduction is associated with enhanced repetitive action potential firing. The study explores the role of membrane phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and potassium channels in this process, suggesting that rule learning-induced enhancement in intrinsic neuronal excitability is mediated by reduced conductance of potassium channels.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Physiology
Sonali Vasnik, Sujit K. Sikdar
Summary: This study investigated the effects of acetylcholine and nicotine on theta rhythm generation in the hippocampus using rat brain slices. The results showed that exogenously applied acetylcholine had different effects on subicular neurons, while nicotine selectively suppressed certain neuronal properties.
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Min Li, Xiao Zhang, Qin He, Dadian Chen, Feiyu Chen, Xiaojun Wang, Shuang Sun, Yue Sun, Yuchuan Li, Zhiwei Zhu, Heyi Fang, Xiaoman Shi, Xiaomeng Yao, Haiji Sun, Min Wang
Summary: Parkinson's disease is associated with abnormal activity patterns and oscillations in the brain's basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits. This study investigated the interaction between the thalamic parafascicular nucleus (PF) and motor cortex (M1) in rats with dopaminergic cell lesions. The results showed aberrant firing patterns and phase-locked firing in PF neurons, which correlated with ongoing PF oscillations in M1 neurons. There were also alterations in phase-locking in both PF and M1 circuits in the diseased rats. The study provided evidence for bidirectional connectivity pathways between PF and M1. These findings suggest that multiple alterations in anatomical and functional modes may contribute to the interaction between PF and M1 in Parkinson's disease.
FRONTIERS IN AGING NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Stasia D'Onofrio, Nebojsa Kezunovic, James R. Hyde, Brennon Luster, Erick Messias, Francisco J. Urbano, Edgar Garcia-Rill
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
(2015)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Paige Beck, Francisco J. Urbano, D. Keith Williams, Edgar Garcia-Rill
JOURNAL OF NEURAL TRANSMISSION
(2013)
Article
Clinical Neurology
E. Garcia-Rill, J. Hyde, N. Kezunovic, F. J. Urbano, E. Petersen
JOURNAL OF NEURAL TRANSMISSION
(2015)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Belen Goitia, Mariana Raineri, Laura E. Gonzalez, Jose L. Rozas, Edgar Garcia-Rill, Veronica Bisagno, Francisco J. Urbano
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2013)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Paige Beck, Susan Mahaffey, Francisco J. Urbano, Edgar Garcia-Rill
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2013)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
James Hyde, Melanie MacNicol, Angela Odle, Edgar Garcia-Rill
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2014)
Article
Neurosciences
Betina Gonzalez, Mariana Raineri, Jean Lud Cadet, Edgar Garcia-Rill, Francisco J. Urbano, Veronica Bisagno
Article
Neurosciences
Mariana Raineri, Betina Gonzalez, Celeste Rivero-Echeto, Javier A. Muniz, Maria Laura Gutierrez, Carolina I. Ghanem, Jean Lud Cadet, Edgar Garcia-Rill, Francisco J. Urbano, Veronica Bisagno
NEUROTOXICITY RESEARCH
(2015)
Article
Physiology
James Hyde, Nebojsa Kezunovic, Francisco J. Urbano, Edgar Garcia-Rill
PFLUGERS ARCHIV-EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY
(2013)
Review
Neurosciences
E. Garcia-Rill, N. Kezunovic, S. D'Onofrio, B. Luster, J. Hyde, V. Bisagno, F. J. Urbano
EXPERIMENTAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2014)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Francisco J. Urbano, Stasia M. D'Onofrio, Brennon R. Luster, Paige B. Beck, James Robert Hyde, Veronica Bisagno, Edgar Garcia-Rill
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2014)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Edgar Garcia-Rill, Stasia D'Onofrio, Susan C. Mahaffey, Veronica Bisagno, Francisco J. Urbano
Review
Neurosciences
Edgar Garcia-Rill
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
(2019)
Article
Neurosciences
Young-Jin Kang, Ethan M. Clement, Stefan L. Sumsky, Yangfei Xiang, In-Hyun Park, Sabato Santaniello, Lazar John Greenfield, Edgar Garcia-Rill, Bret N. Smith, Sang-Hun Lee
Article
Neurosciences
Veronica Bisagno, Maria Alejandra Bernardi, Sara Sanz Blasco, Francisco J. Urbano, Edgar Garcia-Rill