The thalamic matrix and thalamocortical synchrony

doi:10.1016/S0166-2236(00)01922-6

Trends in Neurosciences

Volume 24, Issue 10, 1 October 2001, Pages 595-601

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-2236(00)01922-6 Get rights and content

Abstract

High-frequency synchronous activity of neurons in the cerebral cortex and thalamus is a concomitant of discrete conscious events. In the primate thalamus, a newly identified population of neurons provides a basis for this synchronization. A matrix of calbindin-immunoreactive neurons extends throughout the thalamus and projects to superficial layers of cortex over wide areas, unconstrained by boundaries between areas. In some nuclei, a core of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons is superimposed upon the matrix. Core neurons project in a topographically ordered fashion to middle layers of the cortex in an area-specific manner. Matrix neurons, recruited by corticothalamic connections, can disperse activity across cortical areas and thalamic nuclei. Their superficial terminations can synchronize specific and nonspecific elements of the thalamocortical network in coherent activity that underlies cognitive events.

Section snippets

Two chemically defined classes of thalamocortical relay neurons in monkeys

Neurons immunoreactive for the Ca²⁺-binding protein, 28 kDa calbindin, are distributed throughout the dorsal thalamus, unconstrained by nuclear borders or by distinctions between intralaminar, relay or other nuclei ¹⁹. These form a matrix to the whole thalamus. In certain nuclei only, a core of slightly larger neurons that are immunoreactive for a different Ca²⁺-binding protein, parvalbumin, are inserted into the matrix ²⁰. Parvalbumin-containing cells are particularly prominent in the sensory

Differential cortical projections of matrix and core cells

Calbindin-positive cells and parvalbumin-positive cells are distinguished by different cortical projections (Fig. 3). Applications of dye tracers to the surfaces of the somatosensory, auditory or visual areas of the cortex, which affect layers I, II and commonly upper layer III, result in retrograde labeling of only calbindin-positive cells in the thalamus 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28. Deeper injections of dye, which affect layer IV and deep layer III, result in retrograde labeling of

Diffuse and focused subcortical inputs

Just as the calbindin- and parvalbumin-positive cells form diffuse and specific pathways to the cerebral cortex, respectively, so their subcortical inputs appear to be similarly organized (Fig. 4). The parvalbumin-rich compartments of the VPL and VPM are the sole termini of the parvalbumin-positive fibers of the medial and trigeminal lemnisci, in which they end in the well-known somatotopic order (Fig. 4a). The spinothalamic and spinal trigeminothalamic pathways, however, terminate in

The intralaminar and other nuclei

The ventral posterior, medial geniculate and lateral geniculate nuclei provide the backbone of the idea of a matrix of diffusely and superficially projecting calbindin-positive cells. The matrix is driven by less-precise subcortical inputs, into which a core of topographically ordered parvalbumin-positive cells, which project to middle layers in an area-specific manner and are driven by more precise subcortical inputs, is inserted. How does this idea stand up in other thalamic nuclei? In the

The thalamic matrix and corticothalamic synchronization

All theories about how large numbers of thalamic cells can be recruited into coherent action, depend upon some form of intrathalamic connection that extends across nuclear borders. For the low-frequency oscillations of thalamic and cortical cells in the delta and spindle frequency ranges that depend upon recurrent burst firing of relay cells as they recover from reticular nucleus-imposed inhibition, connections between adjacent reticular nucleus cells and the diffuse projections from some

Acknowledgements

The author's research is supported by grant numbers NS21377 and NS39094 from the National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service.

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Trends in Neurosciences

ReviewThe thalamic matrix and thalamocortical synchrony

Abstract

Section snippets

Two chemically defined classes of thalamocortical relay neurons in monkeys

Differential cortical projections of matrix and core cells

Diffuse and focused subcortical inputs

The intralaminar and other nuclei

The thalamic matrix and corticothalamic synchronization

Acknowledgements

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Brain Res.

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Coherent oscillations in specific and non-specific thalamocortical networks and their role in cognition

Synchronization of visual responses between the cortex, lateral geniculate nucleus, and retina in the anesthetized cat

J. Neurosci.

Oscillatory activity in sensorimotor cortex of awake monkeys: synchronization of local field potentials and relation to behavior

J. Neurophysiol.

Long-range synchronization of oscillatory light responses in the cat retina and lateral geniculate nucleus

Nature

Fast (mainly 30–100 Hz) oscillations in the cat cerebellothalamic pathway and their synchronization with cortical potentials

J. Physiol.

Synchronous activity in the visual system

Annu. Rev. Physiol.

Oscillatory responses in cat visual cortex exhibit inter-columnar synchronization which reflects global stimulus properties

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Consciousness and the structure of neuronal representations

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Review
The thalamic matrix and thalamocortical synchrony