Laterodorsal nucleus of the thalamus: A processor of somatosensory inputs

Tatiana Bezdudnaya; Asaf Keller

doi:10.1002/cne.21664

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Laterodorsal nucleus of the thalamus: A processor of somatosensory inputs

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Laterodorsal nucleus of the thalamus: A processor of somatosensory inputs

Tatiana Bezdudnaya and Asaf Keller

Journal of comparative neurology (1911), v 507(6), pp 1979-1989

20 Apr 2008

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.21664

PMID: 18273888

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https://europepmc.org/articles/pmc2800129View

Accepted (AM)Open Access (License Unspecified), Open

Abstract

Action Potentials

Afferent Pathways - anatomy & histology

Afferent Pathways - physiology

Animals

Axons - physiology

Axons - ultrastructure

Brain Mapping

Electrophysiology

Female

Gyrus Cinguli - anatomy & histology

Gyrus Cinguli - physiology

Lateral Thalamic Nuclei - anatomy & histology

Lateral Thalamic Nuclei - physiology

Learning - physiology

Lysine - analogs & derivatives

Mechanoreceptors - physiology

Physical Stimulation

Rats

Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Space Perception - physiology

Staining and Labeling

Synaptic Transmission - physiology

Touch - physiology

Trigeminal Nucleus, Spinal - anatomy & histology

Trigeminal Nucleus, Spinal - physiology

Vibrissae - innervation

Vibrissae - physiology

The laterodorsal (LD) nucleus of the thalamus has been considered a "higher order" nucleus that provides inputs to limbic cortical areas. Although its functions are largely unknown, it is often considered to be involved in spatial learning and memory. Here we provide evidence that LD is part of a hitherto unknown pathway for processing somatosensory information. Juxtacellular and extracellular recordings from LD neurons reveal that they respond to vibrissa stimulation with short latency (median = 7 ms) and large magnitude responses (median = 1.2 spikes/stimulus). Most neurons (62%) had large receptive fields, responding to six and more individual vibrissae. Electrical stimulation of the trigeminal nucleus interpolaris (SpVi) evoked short latency responses (median = 3.8 ms) in vibrissa-responsive LD neurons. Labeling produced by anterograde and retrograde neuroanatomical tracers confirmed that LD neurons receive direct inputs from SpVi. Electrophysiological and neuroanatomical analyses revealed also that LD projects upon the cingulate and retrosplenial cortex, but has only sparse projections to the barrel cortex. These findings suggest that LD is part of a novel processing stream involved in spatial orientation and learning related to somatosensory cues.

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52 citations in Scopus

Details

Title: Laterodorsal nucleus of the thalamus: A processor of somatosensory inputs
Creators: Tatiana Bezdudnaya - University of Maryland, Baltimore
Asaf Keller
Publication Details: Journal of comparative neurology (1911), v 507(6), pp 1979-1989
Publisher: Wiley
Grant note: R01 NS035360 / NINDS NIH HHS NS-051799 / NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS051799-04 / NINDS NIH HHS NS-35360 / NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS051799 / NINDS NIH HHS
Resource Type: Journal article
Language: English
Academic Unit: Neurobiology and Anatomy
Web of Science ID: WOS:000254322900010
Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-41149118510
Other Identifier: 991021899208204721

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Web of Science research areas: Neurosciences; Zoology

Laterodorsal nucleus of the thalamus: A processor of somatosensory inputs

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