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Maintenance of persistent activity in a frontal thalamocortical loop
Zengcai V Guo1, Hidehiko K Inagaki1, Kayvon Daie1
1Janelia Research Campus, HHMI, Ashburn, Virginia 20147, USA.
Nature
|May 4, 2017
Summary
The thalamus and anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) exhibit coordinated persistent neural activity crucial for guiding actions. Disrupting this circuit causes neglect, highlighting their role in motor preparation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Neural Circuits
Background:
- Persistent neural activity is essential for linking past and future events.
- While local circuits are implicated, long-range circuits may also contribute to persistent activity.
- Neurons in the anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) show selective persistent activity guiding future actions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of thalamic circuits in persistent neural activity related to motor preparation.
- To determine the functional connectivity between the ALM and thalamus during a delayed response task.
Main Methods:
- Simultaneous spike recordings from the ALM and thalamus in mice during a tactile discrimination task with delayed directional response.
- Unilateral photoinhibition of neural activity in the ALM and thalamus.
Main Results:
- Thalamic neurons displayed selective persistent delay activity predicting movement direction, mirroring ALM neuron activity.
- Unilateral photoinhibition of delay activity in either the ALM or thalamus resulted in contralesional neglect.
- Photoinhibition of the thalamus led to a rapid and significant decrease in ALM activity, and vice versa.
Conclusions:
- The thalamus acts as a critical circuit hub in motor preparation.
- Persistent neural activity relies on reciprocal excitation between multiple brain areas, including the ALM and thalamus.
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