Information processing in the thalamus

丘脑的信息处理

• 批准号: 6835526
• 负责人: Abigail L Person
• 金额: $ 3.21万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-09-16 至 2007-09-15
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6835526
• 关键词: basal ganglia; evoked potentials; gamma aminobutyrate; neural information processing; predoctoral investigator; sensorimotor system; songbirds; thalamus; verbal learning

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): An enormous amount of energy has been targeted at elucidating basal ganglia function yet almost nothing is known about the mechanisms that govern the relay of basal-ganglia output through the thalamus. The basic thrust of this research proposal is to explore how information is transferred through a thalamic nucleus, which lies within a basal ganglia loop required for song learning in zebra finches. This problem is interesting because the most substantial input to this thalamic area (DLM), is GABAergic and strongly inhibitory to DLM neurons. How, then, might DLM relay GABAergic inputs? A robust feature of thalamic neurons could render inhibitory post-synaptic potentials (IPSPs) excitatory, namely post-inhibitory rebound. In fact, short barrages of IPSPs have been shown to elicit rebound spikes in DLM neurons. In this study, we plan to systematically explore the capacity of thalamic neurons to translate IPSPs into superthreshold output. These experiments will provide powerful insight into the function of thalamic areas important for motor learning in vertebrates, as well as thalamic-basal ganglia relay. This information is necessary to completely understand basal ganglia circuitry, which is pathological in human disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

描述（由申请人提供）：大量的精力都集中在阐明基底神经节的功能上，但对于控制基底神经节输出通过丘脑的中继的机制几乎一无所知。这项研究计划的基本主旨是探索信息如何通过丘脑核传递，丘脑核位于斑胸草雀鸣叫学习所需的基底神经节环内。这个问题很有趣，因为该丘脑区域 (DLM) 的最重要输入是 GABA 能，并且对 DLM 神经元具有强烈抑制作用。那么，DLM 如何中继 GABAergic 输入呢？丘脑神经元的一个强大特征可以使抑制性突触后电位（IPSP）兴奋，即抑制后反弹。事实上，短时间的 IPSP 攻击已被证明会引起 DLM 神经元的反弹峰值。在这项研究中，我们计划系统地探索丘脑神经元将 IPSP 转化为超阈值输出的能力。这些实验将为对脊椎动物运动学习以及丘脑-基底神经节中继重要的丘脑区域的功能提供深入的了解。这些信息对于完全了解基底神经节回路是必要的，基底神经节回路在帕金森病等人类疾病中是病理性的。