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Thalamic neuromodulation and its implications for executive networks

The thalamus is a key structure that controls the routing of information in the brain. Understanding modulation at the thalamic level is critical to understanding the flow of information to brain regions involved in cognitive functions, such as the neocortex, the hippocampus, and the basal ganglia....

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Autor principal: Varela, Carmen
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4068295/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25009467
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2014.00069
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author Varela, Carmen
author_facet Varela, Carmen
author_sort Varela, Carmen
collection PubMed
description The thalamus is a key structure that controls the routing of information in the brain. Understanding modulation at the thalamic level is critical to understanding the flow of information to brain regions involved in cognitive functions, such as the neocortex, the hippocampus, and the basal ganglia. Modulators contribute the majority of synapses that thalamic cells receive, and the highest fraction of modulator synapses is found in thalamic nuclei interconnected with higher order cortical regions. In addition, disruption of modulators often translates into disabling disorders of executive behavior. However, modulation in thalamic nuclei such as the midline and intralaminar groups, which are interconnected with forebrain executive regions, has received little attention compared to sensory nuclei. Thalamic modulators are heterogeneous in regards to their origin, the neurotransmitter they use, and the effect on thalamic cells. Modulators also share some features, such as having small terminal boutons and activating metabotropic receptors on the cells they contact. I will review anatomical and physiological data on thalamic modulators with these goals: first, determine to what extent the evidence supports similar modulator functions across thalamic nuclei; and second, discuss the current evidence on modulation in the midline and intralaminar nuclei in relation to their role in executive function.
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spelling pubmed-40682952014-07-09 Thalamic neuromodulation and its implications for executive networks Varela, Carmen Front Neural Circuits Neuroscience The thalamus is a key structure that controls the routing of information in the brain. Understanding modulation at the thalamic level is critical to understanding the flow of information to brain regions involved in cognitive functions, such as the neocortex, the hippocampus, and the basal ganglia. Modulators contribute the majority of synapses that thalamic cells receive, and the highest fraction of modulator synapses is found in thalamic nuclei interconnected with higher order cortical regions. In addition, disruption of modulators often translates into disabling disorders of executive behavior. However, modulation in thalamic nuclei such as the midline and intralaminar groups, which are interconnected with forebrain executive regions, has received little attention compared to sensory nuclei. Thalamic modulators are heterogeneous in regards to their origin, the neurotransmitter they use, and the effect on thalamic cells. Modulators also share some features, such as having small terminal boutons and activating metabotropic receptors on the cells they contact. I will review anatomical and physiological data on thalamic modulators with these goals: first, determine to what extent the evidence supports similar modulator functions across thalamic nuclei; and second, discuss the current evidence on modulation in the midline and intralaminar nuclei in relation to their role in executive function. Frontiers Media S.A. 2014-06-24 /pmc/articles/PMC4068295/ /pubmed/25009467 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2014.00069 Text en Copyright © 2014 Varela. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Neuroscience
Varela, Carmen
Thalamic neuromodulation and its implications for executive networks
title Thalamic neuromodulation and its implications for executive networks
title_full Thalamic neuromodulation and its implications for executive networks
title_fullStr Thalamic neuromodulation and its implications for executive networks
title_full_unstemmed Thalamic neuromodulation and its implications for executive networks
title_short Thalamic neuromodulation and its implications for executive networks
title_sort thalamic neuromodulation and its implications for executive networks
topic Neuroscience
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4068295/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25009467
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2014.00069
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