Journal article
Thalamocortical Up States: Differential Effects of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Cortical Inputs on Persistent Activity
The Journal of neuroscience, v 27(16), pp 4261-4272
18 Apr 2007
PMID: 17442810
Abstract
During behavioral quiescence, the neocortex generates spontaneous slow oscillations that consist of Up and Down states. Up states are short epochs of persistent activity that resemble the activated neocortex during arousal and cognition. Although Up states are generated within the cortex, the impact of extrinsic (thalamocortical) and intrinsic (intracortical) inputs on the persistent activity is not known. Using thalamocortical slices, we found that the persistent cortical activity during spontaneous Up states effectively drives thalamocortical relay cells through corticothalamic connections. However, thalamic activity can also precede the onset of cortical Up states, which suggests a role of thalamic activity in triggering cortical Up states through thalamocortical connections. In support of this hypothesis, we found that cutting the connections between thalamus and cortex reduced the incidence of spontaneous Up states in the cortex. Consistent with a facilitating role of thalamic activity on Up states, electrical or chemical stimulation of the thalamus triggered cortical Up states very effectively and enhanced those occurring spontaneously. In contrast, stimulation of the cortex triggered Up states only at very low intensities but otherwise had a suppressive effect on Up states. Moreover, cortical stimulation suppressed the facilitating effect of thalamic stimulation on Up states. In conclusion, thalamocortical inputs facilitate and intracortical inputs suppress cortical Up states. Thus, extrinsic and intrinsic cortical inputs differentially regulate persistent activity, which may serve to adjust the processing state of thalamocortical networks during behavior.
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Details
- Title
- Thalamocortical Up States: Differential Effects of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Cortical Inputs on Persistent Activity
- Creators
- Pavlos Rigas - Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19129Manuel A Castro-Alamancos - Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19129
- Publication Details
- The Journal of neuroscience, v 27(16), pp 4261-4272
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000245810200005
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-34247360027
- Other Identifier
- 991014878067804721
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- Web of Science research areas
- Neurosciences