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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
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Modification of a Colliculo-thalamocortical Mouse Brain Slice, Incorporating 3-D printing of Chamber Components and Multi-scale Optical Imaging
Published on: September 18, 2015
Segregation and convergence of information flow through the cortico-subthalamic pathways
B P Kolomiets1, J M Deniau, P Mailly
1Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U114, Chaire de Neuropharmacologie, Collège de France, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Summary
Information flow from distinct cortical areas remains segregated in the striatum but partly converges in the subthalamic nucleus, suggesting interactions between parallel channels in basal ganglia circuits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Systems Neuroscience
- Computational Neuroscience
Background:
- Cortico-basal ganglia circuits process information through segregated parallel channels.
- The maintenance of this segregation in trans-subthalamic circuits remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the segregation and convergence of information flow from prefrontal, motor, and auditory cortices within the subthalamic nucleus.
- To elucidate the pathways involved in cortico-subthalamic nucleus communication.
Main Methods:
- Electrophysiological recordings in anesthetized rats.
- Electrical stimulation of prefrontal, motor, and auditory cortices.
- Analysis of neuronal responses in the striatum and subthalamic nucleus.
Main Results:
- Striatal neurons showed segregated responses to distinct cortical stimulations.
- Subthalamic nucleus neurons exhibited both early (direct) and late (indirect pathway) excitatory responses to prefrontal and motor cortex stimulation.
- Auditory cortex stimulation, lacking direct projections, elicited only late excitatory responses in the subthalamic nucleus.
- Partial convergence of inputs from different cortical areas was observed in the subthalamic nucleus.
Conclusions:
- Cortical information segregation is partly maintained but also converges within the subthalamic nucleus.
- Convergence patterns in the subthalamic nucleus may facilitate interactions between parallel basal ganglia processing channels.
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