Synchronized oscillations at alpha and theta frequencies in the lateral geniculate nucleus

In relaxed wakefulness, the EEG exhibits robust rhythms in the alpha band (8-13 Hz), which decelerate to theta (approximately 2-7 Hz) frequencies during early sleep. In animal models, these rhythms occur coherently with synchronized activity in the thalamus. However, the mechanisms of this thalamic activity are unknown. Here we show that, in slices of the lateral geniculate nucleus maintained in vitro, activation of the metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) mGluR1a induces synchronized oscillations at alpha and theta frequencies that share similarities with thalamic alpha and theta rhythms recorded in vivo. These in vitro oscillations are driven by an unusual form of burst firing that is present in a subset of thalamocortical neurons and are synchronized by gap junctions. We propose that mGluR1a-induced oscillations are a potential mechanism whereby the thalamus promotes EEG alpha and theta rhythms in the intact brain.     

Modeling and investigation of neural activity in the thalamus

Although it is known that electroencephalographic (EEG) spindle oscillations are generated and maintained in the thalamus, the underlying mechanisms are still not clear. In this paper, a physiologically based continuum model is used to explore the role of the thalamus in generation of EEG rhythms, particularly spindle oscillations. Furthermore, local interneurons (LIs) which were not previously included in such modeling are studied. A previous continuum model is extended to incorporate LIs within relay nuclei and self-connections of the reticular (RE) nucleus into investigation of the roles and functions of groups of thalamic neurons. The isolated thalamus is analysed into five distinct classes of substructures. Analysis of the properties of waves generated, leads to the main results that: (1) an isolated RE nucleus cannot generate spindle oscillations, but it is essential to generation of spindle oscillations in cooperation with the relay cells; (2) the LIs can also generate spindle oscillations in conjunction with the relay cells; (3) the self-connection loop within the LI population and the one within the RE nucleus both make spindle oscillations easier to produce than in the absence of these connections; (4) the LIs have similar effects to the RE nucleus, except that they are purely inhibitory, whereas the latter has both direct inhibitory effects on relay cells, and indirect net excitatory effects by inhibiting LIs which inhibit relay cells, and (6) self-connections amongst the LIs have equivalent effects to self-connections within the RE nucleus.     

The initiation of bursts in thalamic neurons and the cortical control of thalamic sensitivity

Thalamic neurons generate high-frequency bursts of action potentials when a low-threshold (T-type) calcium current, located in soma and dendrites, becomes activated. Computational models were used to investigate the bursting properties of thalamic relay and reticular neurons. These two types of thalamic cells differ fundamentally in their ability to generate bursts following either excitatory or inhibitory events. Bursts generated with excitatory inputs in relay cells required a high degree of convergence from excitatory inputs, whereas moderate excitation drove burst discharges in reticular neurons from hyperpolarized levels. The opposite holds for inhibitory rebound bursts, which are more difficult to evoke in reticular neurons than in relay cells. The differences between the reticular neurons and thalamocortical neurons were due to different kinetics of the T-current, different electrotonic properties and different distribution patterns of the T-current in the two cell types. These properties enable the cortex to control the sensitivity of the thalamus to inputs and are also important for understanding states such as absence seizures.     

Modelling corticothalamic feedback and the gating of the thalamus by the cerebral cortex

Morphological studies have shown that excitatory synapses from the cortex constitute the major source of synapses in the thalamus. However, the effect of these corticothalamic synapses on the function of the thalamus is not well understood because thalamic neurones have complex intrinsic firing properties and interact through multiple types of synaptic receptors. Here we investigate these complex interactions using computational models. We show first, using models of reconstructed thalamic relay neurones, that the effect of corticothalamic synapses on relay cells can be similar to that of afferent synapses, in amplitude, kinetics and timing, although these synapses are located in different regions of the dendrites. This suggests that cortical EPSPs may complement (or predict) the afferent information. Second, using models of reconstructed thalamic reticular neurones, we show that high densities of the low-threshold Ca2+ current in dendrites can give these cells an exquisite sensitivity to cortical EPSPs, but only if their dendrites are hyperpolarized. This property has consequences at the level of thalamic circuits, where corticothalamic EPSPs evoke bursts in reticular neurones and recruit relay cells predominantly through feedforward inhibition. On the other hand, with depolarized dendrites, thalamic reticular neurones do not generate bursts and the cortical influence on relay cells is mostly excitatory. Models therefore suggest that the cortical influence can either promote or antagonize the relay of information, depending on the state of the dendrites of reticular neurones. The control of these dendrites may therefore be a determinant of attentional mechanisms. We also review the effect of corticothalamic feedback at the network level, and show how the cortical control over the thalamus is essential in co-ordinating widespread, coherent oscillations. We suggest mechanisms by which different modes of corticothalamic interaction would allow oscillations of very different spatiotemporal coherence to coexist in the thalamocortical system.     

Bursting as an Effective Relay Mode in a Minimal Thalamic Model

In recent years, accumulating evidence indicates that thalamic bursts are present during wakefulness and participate in information transmission as an effective relay mode with distinctive properties from the tonic activity. Thalamic bursts originate from activation of the low threshold calcium cannels via a local feedback inhibition, exerted by the thalamic reticular neurons upon the relay neurons. This article, examines if this simple mechanism is sufficient to explain the distinctive properties of thalamic bursting as an effective relay mode. A minimal model of thalamic circuit composed of a retinal spike train, a relay neuron and a reticular neuron is simulated to generate the tonic and burst firing modes. The integrate-and-fire-or-burst model is used to simulate the neurons. After discriminating the burst events with criteria based on inter-spike-intervals, statistical indices show that the bursts of the minimal model are stereotypic events. The relation between the rate of bursts and the parameters of the input spike train demonstrates marked nonlinearities. Burst response is shown to be selective to spike-silence-spike sequences in the input spike train. Moreover, burst events represent the input more reliably than the tonic spike in a considerable range of the parameters of the model. In conclusion, many of the distinctive properties of thalamic bursts such as stereotypy, nonlinear dependence on the sensory stimulus, feature selectivity and reliability are reproducible in the minimal model. Furthermore, the minimal model predicts that while the bursts are more frequent in the spike train of the off-center X relay neurons (corresponding to off-center X retinal ganglion cells), they are more reliable when generated by the on-center ones (corresponding to on-center X ganglion cells).     

Unitary IPSPs drive precise thalamic spiking in a circuit required for learning

Song learning in birds requires a basal ganglia-thalamo-pallial loop that contains a calyceal GABAergic synapse in the thalamus. Information processing within this circuit is critical for proper song development; however, it is unclear whether activation of the inhibitory output of the basal ganglia structure Area X can drive sustained activity in its thalamic target, the medial portion of the dorsolateral thalamic nucleus (DLM). We show that high-frequency, random activation of this GABAergic synapse can drive precisely timed firing in DLM neurons in brain slices in the absence of excitatory input. Complex IPSP trains, including spike trains recorded in vivo, drive spiking in slices with high reproducibility, even between animals. Using a simple model, we can predict much of DLM's response to natural stimulus trains. These data elucidate basic rules by which thalamic relay neurons translate IPSPs into suprathreshold output and demonstrate extrathalamic GABAergic activation of thalamus.     

Thalamic circuitry and thalamocortical synchrony

The corticothalamic system has an important role in synchronizing the activities of thalamic and cortical neurons. Numerically, its synapses dominate the inputs to relay cells and to the gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA)ergic cells of the reticular nucleus (RTN). The capacity of relay neurons to operate in different voltage-dependent functional modes determines that the inputs from the cortex have the capacity directly to excite the relay cells, or indirectly to inhibit them via the RTN, serving to synchronize high- or low-frequency oscillatory activity respectively in the thalamocorticothalamic network. Differences in the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) subunit composition of receptors at synapses formed by branches of the same corticothalamic axon in the RTN and dorsal thalamus are an important element in the capacity of the cortex to synchronize low-frequency oscillations in the network. Interactions of focused corticothalamic axons arising from layer VI cortical cells and diffuse corticothalamic axons arising from layer V cortical cells, with the specifically projecting core relay cells and diffusely projecting matrix cells of the dorsal thalamus, form a substrate for synchronization of widespread populations of cortical and thalamic cells during high-frequency oscillations that underlie discrete conscious events.     

A thalamo-cortical neural mass model for the simulation of brain rhythms during sleep

Cortico-thalamic interactions are known to play a pivotal role in many brain phenomena, including sleep, attention, memory consolidation and rhythm generation. Hence, simple mathematical models that can simulate the dialogue between the cortex and the thalamus, at a mesoscopic level, have a great cognitive value. In the present work we describe a neural mass model of a cortico-thalamic module, based on neurophysiological mechanisms. The model includes two thalamic populations (a thalamo-cortical relay cell population, TCR, and its related thalamic reticular nucleus, TRN), and a cortical column consisting of four connected populations (pyramidal neurons, excitatory interneurons, inhibitory interneurons with slow and fast kinetics). Moreover, thalamic neurons exhibit two firing modes: bursting and tonic. Finally, cortical synapses among pyramidal neurons incorporate a disfacilitation mechanism following prolonged activity. Simulations show that the model is able to mimic the different patterns of rhythmic activity in cortical and thalamic neurons (beta and alpha waves, spindles, delta waves, K-complexes, slow sleep waves) and their progressive changes from wakefulness to deep sleep, by just acting on modulatory inputs. Moreover, simulations performed by providing short sensory inputs to the TCR show that brain rhythms during sleep preserve the cortex from external perturbations, still allowing a high cortical activity necessary to drive synaptic plasticity and memory consolidation. In perspective, the present model may be used within larger cortico-thalamic networks, to gain a deeper understanding of mechanisms beneath synaptic changes during sleep, to investigate the specific role of brain rhythms, and to explore cortical synchronization achieved via thalamic influences.     

Dynamics of coupled thalamocortical modules

We develop a model of thalamocortical dynamics using a shared population of thalamic neurons to couple distant cortical regions. Behavior of the model is determined as a function of the connection strengths with shared and unshared populations in the thalamus, either within a relay nucleus or the reticular nucleus. When the coupling is via the reticular nucleus, we locate solutions of the model where distant cortical regions maintain the same activity level, and regions where one region maintains an elevated activity level, suppressing activity in the other. We locate and investigate a region where both types of solutions exist and are stable, yielding a mechanism for spontaneous changes in global activity patterns. Power spectra and coherence are computed, and marked differences in the coherence are found between the two kinds of modes. When, on the other hand, the coupling is via a shared relay nuclei, the features seen with the reticular coupling are absent. These considerations suggest a role for the reticular nucleus in modulating long distance cortical communication.     

Selective GABAergic control of higher-order thalamic relays

GABAergic signaling is central to the function of the thalamus and has been traditionally attributed primarily to the nucleus reticularis thalami (nRT). Here we present a GABAergic pathway, distinct from the nRT, that exerts a powerful inhibitory effect selectively in higher-order thalamic relays of the rat. Axons originating in the anterior pretectal nucleus (APT) innervated the proximal dendrites of relay cells via large GABAergic terminals with multiple release sites. Stimulation of the APT in an in vitro slice preparation revealed a GABA(A) receptor-mediated, monosynaptic IPSC in relay cells. Activation of presumed single APT fibers induced rebound burst firing in relay cells. Different APT neurons recorded in vivo displayed fast bursting, tonic, or rhythmic firing. Our data suggest that selective extrareticular GABAergic control of relay cell activity will result in effective, state-dependent gating of thalamocortical information transfer in higher-order but not in first-order relays.     

Behavioral and electrophysiological changes induced by acetyl-L-carnitine in aged freely-moving rats

In chronically-implanted, drug-free, behaving aged Fischer rats, intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) and intraperitoneally (i.p.) acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) injections powerfully enhanced motor behavior and head movements aimed at attention and exploratory activity. This effect was dose-dependent and associated with the abolition or substantial reduction of the incidence and duration of the spontaneous EEG generalized hypersynchronous patterns termed High Voltage Spindle (HVS), with an increase in EEG monitored theta activity. The results suggest that ALCAR may stimulate the motivational system and disrupt the hypersynchronous processes by inhibiting the GABAergic thalamic reticular neurons and/or activating the brain stem cholinergic reticular system (pedunculo pontine tegmental, PPT and laterodorsal tegmental, LDT nuclei).     

Dopaminergic regulation of theta activity of septohippocampal neuron in the awake rabbit

The effects of dopamine reuptake blocker nomifensine and nonselective antagonist of dopamine receptors haloperidol on the theta rhythmicity of the medial septal neurons and hippocampal EEG were investigated in the rabbit. Bilateral intracerebroventricular infusion of nomifensine (9 micrograms in each ventriculus) produced an increase in both the rate of firing and the theta modulation of medial septal neurons; the theta power of the hippocampal EEG also augmented. The degree of neuronal theta stability (time constant of damping, tao theta) significantly increased. The frequency of rhythmic bursts in the neuronal firing also substantially elevated. The amplitude, regularity and frequency of theta waves in the hippocampal EEG also increased. The antagonist haloperidol (12.5 mg) caused the opposite effect. The theta activity of medial septal neurons and the theta power of the hippocampal EEG decreased after haloperidol injection. Theta rhythmicity of septal neurons significantly diminished, the rate of rhythmic bursts in the neuronal firing also decreased, although not substantially. The theta amplitude and regularity in the hippocampal EEG also decreased. Effects of both drugs built up rapidly and then gradually attenuated. Nomifensine infusion against the background of exposure to haloperidol provoked neither increasing neuronal firing rate, nor elevating theta activity. These finding suggest that dopaminergic system produces activation of the septohippocampal system in situations that require selective attention to functionally important information.     

Propofol suppresses synaptic responsiveness of somatosensory relay neurons to excitatory input by potentiating GABAA receptor chloride channels

Propofol is a widely used intravenous general anesthetic. Propofol-induced unconsciousness in humans is associated with inhibition of thalamic activity evoked by somatosensory stimuli. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying the effects of propofol in thalamic circuits are largely unknown. We investigated the influence of propofol on synaptic responsiveness of thalamocortical relay neurons in the ventrobasal complex (VB) to excitatory input in mouse brain slices, using both current- and voltage-clamp recording techniques. Excitatory responses including EPSP temporal summation and action potential firing were evoked in VB neurons by electrical stimulation of corticothalamic fibers or pharmacological activation of glutamate receptors. Propofol (0.6 – 3 μM) suppressed temporal summation and spike firing in a concentration-dependent manner. The thalamocortical suppression was accompanied by a marked decrease in both EPSP amplitude and input resistance, indicating that a shunting mechanism was involved. The propofol-mediated thalamocortical suppression could be blocked by a GABA_A receptor antagonist or chloride channel blocker, suggesting that postsynaptic GABA_A receptors in VB neurons were involved in the shunting inhibition. GABA_A receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) were evoked in VB neurons by electrical stimulation of the reticular thalamic nucleus. Propofol markedly increased amplitude, decay time, and charge transfer of GABA_A IPSCs. The results demonstrated that shunting inhibition of thalamic somatosensory relay neurons by propofol at clinically relevant concentrations is primarily mediated through the potentiation of the GABA_A receptor chloride channel-mediated conductance, and such inhibition may contribute to the impaired thalamic responses to sensory stimuli seen during propofol-induced anesthesia.     

Active neocortical processes during quiescent sleep

The neocortex and the thalamus constitute a unified oscillatory machine during different states of vigilance. The cortically generated slow sleep oscillation has the virtue of grouping other sleep rhythms, including those arising in the thalamus, within complex wave-sequences. Despite the coherent oscillatory activity in corticothalamic circuits, on the functional side there is dissociation between thalamus and neocortex during sleep. While dorsal thalamic neurons undergo inhibitory processes induced by prolonged spikebursts of GABAergic thalamic reticular neurons, the cortex displays, periodically, a rich spontaneous activity and preserves the capacity to process internally generated signals. Simultaneous intracellular recordings from thalamic and cortical neurons show that short-term plasticity processes occur after prolonged and rhythmic spike-bursts fired by thalamic and cortical neurons during slow-wave sleep oscillations. This may serve to support resonant phenomena and reorganize corticothalamic circuitry.     

Unit activity of the reticular and relay nuclei of the cat thalamus

Relations between neurons of the reticular and specific relay nuclei of the thalamus were studied in cats immobilized with tubocurarine. Under the influence of stimulation of the reticular nucleus (RN) unit activity in the thalamic relay nuclei was found to be considerably modulated. Cases of the appearance of IPSPs (possibly of monosynaptic nature), evoked by stimulation of RN, in neurons of the ventroposterolateral nucleus (VPLN) and lateral geniculate body (LGB) are described. During simultaneous recording of unit activity in RN and VPLN or LGB by means of two electrodes interaction of several types was found: inhibition of discharges of VPLN or LGB neurons accompanied by excitation of RN neurons: alternation of excitation-inhibition in neuron pairs in RN and VPLN or RN and LGB during low-frequency afferent or cortical stimulation (in this case excitation of RN neurons is associated with inhibition of VPLN or LGB neurons), and strengthening of the discharge of VPLN or LGB neurons during excitation of RN neurons. The possibility of the existence both of direct monosynaptic inhibition of activity of VPLN or LGB relay neurons under the influence of excitation of RN neurons and of their inhibition by activation of hypothetical interneurons of the relay nuclei themselves is accepted.I. S. Beritashvili Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR, Tbilisi. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 24–31, January–February, 1981.     

Synaptic activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors regulates dendritic outputs of thalamic interneurons

Information gating through the thalamus is dependent on the output of thalamic relay neurons. These relay neurons receive convergent innervation from a number of sources, including GABA-containing interneurons that provide feed-forward inhibition. These interneurons are unique in that they have two distinct outputs: axonal and dendritic. In addition to conventional axonal outputs, these interneurons have presynaptic dendrites that may provide localized inhibitory influences. Our study indicates that synaptic activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) increases inhibitory activity in relay neurons by increasing output of presynaptic dendrites of interneurons. Optic tract stimulation increases inhibitory activity in thalamic relay neurons in a frequency- and intensity-dependent manner and is attenuated by mGluR antagonists. Our data suggest that synaptic activation of mGluRs selectively alters dendritic output but not axonal output of thalamic interneurons. This mechanism could serve an important role in focal, feed-forward information processing in addition to dynamic information processing in thalamocortical circuits.     

The effects of DBS patterns on basal ganglia activity and thalamic relay

Thalamic neurons receive inputs from cortex and their responses are modulated by the basal ganglia (BG). This modulation is necessary to properly relay cortical inputs back to cortex and downstream to the brain stem when movements are planned. In Parkinson's disease (PD), the BG input to thalamus becomes pathological and relay of motor-related cortical inputs is compromised, thereby impairing movements. However, high frequency (HF) deep brain stimulation (DBS) may be used to restore relay reliability, thereby restoring movements in PD patients. Although therapeutic, HF stimulation consumes significant power forcing surgical battery replacements, and may cause adverse side effects. Here, we used a biophysical-based model of the BG-Thalamus motor loop in both healthy and PD conditions to assess whether low frequency stimulation can suppress pathological activity in PD and enable the thalamus to reliably relay movement-related cortical inputs. We administered periodic pulse train DBS waveforms to the sub-thalamic nucleus (STN) with frequencies ranging from 0-140 Hz, and computed statistics that quantified pathological bursting, oscillations, and synchronization in the BG as well as thalamic relay of cortical inputs. We found that none of the frequencies suppressed all pathological activity in BG, though the HF waveforms recovered thalamic reliability. Our rigorous study, however, led us to a novel DBS strategy involving low frequency multi-input phase-shifted DBS, which successfully suppressed pathological symptoms in all BG nuclei and enabled reliable thalamic relay. The neural restoration remained robust to changes in the model parameters characterizing early to late PD stages.     

睡眠2期脑电信号产生的生理机制模型仿真研究

目前慢波睡眠生理机制研究已有的理论及动物实验结果显示,慢波睡眠中,皮层-丘脑系统神经元存在三种不同节律的振荡:慢振荡(<1 HZ)、δ振荡(1-4Hz)和纺锤振荡(7-14Hz)。这些神经元电活动在皮层水平广泛同步化,产生慢波睡眠脑电。提出了能分别产生这三种节律的三种神经元环路模型,并将之组合简化成一个七细胞环路模型。由这样的大量环路组成的网络模型在合适的突触连接参数范围内,能在皮层处产生人类慢波睡眠脑电2期的完整波形。这一结果说明了如何将动物实验观察到的睡眠生理机制的结果与人自然睡眠活动的脑电结果联系起来,并提示脑信息处理中由微观神经元群放电特征整合为脑的宏观功能状态的主要环节。     

Interactive responses of a thalamic neuron to formalin induced lasting pain in behaving mice

Thalamocortical (TC) neurons are known to relay incoming sensory information to the cortex via firing in tonic or burst mode. However, it is still unclear how respective firing modes of a single thalamic relay neuron contribute to pain perception under consciousness. Some studies report that bursting could increase pain in hyperalgesic conditions while others suggest the contrary. However, since previous studies were done under either neuropathic pain conditions or often under anesthesia, the mechanism of thalamic pain modulation under awake conditions is not well understood. We therefore characterized the thalamic firing patterns of behaving mice in response to nociceptive pain induced by inflammation. Our results demonstrated that nociceptive pain responses were positively correlated with tonic firing and negatively correlated with burst firing of individual TC neurons. Furthermore, burst properties such as intra-burst-interval (IntraBI) also turned out to be reliably correlated with the changes of nociceptive pain responses. In addition, brain stimulation experiments revealed that only bursts with specific bursting patterns could significantly abolish behavioral nociceptive responses. The results indicate that specific patterns of bursting activity in thalamocortical relay neurons play a critical role in controlling long-lasting inflammatory pain in awake and behaving mice.     

Synchronization of Isolated Downstates (K-Complexes) May Be Caused by Cortically-Induced Disruption of Thalamic Spindling

Sleep spindles and K-complexes (KCs) define stage 2 NREM sleep (N2) in humans. We recently showed that KCs are isolated downstates characterized by widespread cortical silence. We demonstrate here that KCs can be quasi-synchronous across scalp EEG and across much of the cortex using electrocorticography (ECOG) and localized transcortical recordings (bipolar SEEG). We examine the mechanism of synchronous KC production by creating the first conductance based thalamocortical network model of N2 sleep to generate both spontaneous spindles and KCs. Spontaneous KCs are only observed when the model includes diffuse projections from restricted prefrontal areas to the thalamic reticular nucleus (RE), consistent with recent anatomical findings in rhesus monkeys. Modeled KCs begin with a spontaneous focal depolarization of the prefrontal neurons, followed by depolarization of the RE. Surprisingly, the RE depolarization leads to decreased firing due to disrupted spindling, which in turn is due to depolarization-induced inactivation of the low-threshold Ca²⁺ current (I_T). Further, although the RE inhibits thalamocortical (TC) neurons, decreased RE firing causes decreased TC cell firing, again because of disrupted spindling. The resulting abrupt removal of excitatory input to cortical pyramidal neurons then leads to the downstate. Empirically, KCs may also be evoked by sensory stimuli while maintaining sleep. We reproduce this phenomenon in the model by depolarization of either the RE or the widely-projecting prefrontal neurons. Again, disruption of thalamic spindling plays a key role. Higher levels of RE stimulation also cause downstates, but by directly inhibiting the TC neurons. SEEG recordings from the thalamus and cortex in a single patient demonstrated the model prediction that thalamic spindling significantly decreases before KC onset. In conclusion, we show empirically that KCs can be widespread quasi-synchronous cortical downstates, and demonstrate with the first model of stage 2 NREM sleep a possible mechanism whereby this widespread synchrony may arise.