Thalamocortical interactions

项目摘要 这项拟议中的研究将检验相关的假设，即丘脑在迄今为止被忽视的 在大脑皮层处理过程中起着关键作用。特别是，许多丘脑核团，共同构成了大部分的 丘脑体积和以前神秘的功能，我们现在建议是关键参与 通过皮质-丘脑-皮质的信息流和皮质区之间的功能性动态结合 途径。我们建议使用小鼠躯体感觉系统作为模型来研究这些通路， 包括体外切片和体内整个动物制剂。看来，在许多情况下，也许在所有情况下， 皮层区域通过直接通路和这些经丘脑通路连接，我们希望了解原因： 每种途径传递的信息有什么不同？为什么一个人通过丘脑时， 有没有可能被封锁在那里？当两条通路同时作用于大脑皮层时， 是活跃的，这可能涉及到区域的动态连接，以帮助各种认知任务，如 注意了吗？为了开始开发这些问题的答案，我们建议探索基本的电路特性， 这些途径，以更好地了解在更高的认知功能的丘脑通路的作用。

PROJECT SUMMARY The proposed research will test related hypotheses that thalamus plays a heretofore neglected and critical role in cortical processing. In particular, many thalamic nuclei, that together comprise the majority of thalamic volume and that were previously mysterious in function, we now suggest are critically involved in information flow and functional, dynamic binding between cortical areas via cortico-thalamo-cortical pathways. We propose to study these pathways using the mouse somatosensory system as the model involving both in vitro slice and in vivo whole animal preparations. It appears that, in many and perhaps all cases, cortical areas are connected by both direct and these transthalamic pathways, and we wish to understand why: What is different in the information passed by each pathway? Why does one pass through thalamus with the possibility of being blocked there? Is there nonlinear summation in the target cortical area when both pathways are active, and could this be involved in dynamic linking of areas to subserve various cognitive tasks, such as attention? To begin developing answers to these questions, we propose to probe basic circuit properties of these pathways to better understand the role of the transthalamic pathways in higher cognitive functioning.