Cortical connections of the rat lateral posterior thalamic nucleus

Spatial processing related to directed attention is thought to be mediated by a specific cortical-basal ganglia-thalamic-cortical network in the rat. Key components of this network are associative cortical areas medial agranular cortex (AGm) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC), dorsocentral striatum (DCS), and lateral posterior (LP) thalamic nucleus, all of which are interconnected. Previously, we found that thalamostriatal projections reaching DCS arise from separate populations of neurons of the mediorostral part of LP (LPMR). The far medial LPMR (fmLPMR) terminates in central DCS, a projection area of AGm, whereas central LPMR terminates in dorsal DCS, a projection area of PPC. This represents segregated regional convergence in DCS from different sources of thalamic and cortical inputs. In the present study, thalamocortical and corticothalamic projections arising from and terminating in LPMR and neighboring thalamic nuclei were studied by anterograde and retrograde tracing techniques in order to further understand the anatomical basis of this neural circuitry. A significant finding was that within LPMR, separate neuronal populations provide thalamic inputs to AGm or PPC and that these cortical areas project to separate regions in LPMR, from which they receive thalamic inputs. Other cortical areas adjacent to AGm or PPC also demonstrated reciprocal connections with LP or surrounding nuclei in a topographic manner. Our findings suggest that the cortical-basal ganglia-thalamic network mediating directed attention in the rat is formed by multiple loops, each having reciprocal connections that are organized in a precise and segregated topographical manner.