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Corticothalamic feedback sculpts visual spatial integration in mouse thalamus.

Gregory Born^1,2, Felix A Schneider-Soupiadis^1,2, Sinem Erisken^1,3,4

¹Division of Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.

Nature Neuroscience

|November 12, 2021

Summary

Cortical feedback sharpens visual processing in the thalamus. This study reveals how corticothalamic (CT) feedback pathways, particularly through the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), refine receptive fields (RFs) and enhance surround suppression in the dLGN.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Visual processing
Thalamic circuitry

Background:

Visual information travels from the retina to the cortex via the dLGN.
Corticothalamic (CT) feedback is known to modulate visual processing, but its mechanisms are unclear.
The roles of direct excitatory and indirect inhibitory CT feedback pathways in spatial processing require elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how corticothalamic (CT) feedback modulates spatial processing in the dorsolateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN).
To determine the specific pathways involved in feedback-mediated sharpening of receptive fields (RFs) and surround suppression.
To explore the contribution of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) to these modulatory effects.

Main Methods:

Recordings from awake mice, focusing on the dLGN and the visual sector of the thalamic reticular nucleus (visTRN).
Utilized a network model to guide experimental hypotheses regarding inhibitory CT feedback.
Characterized receptive field properties and surround suppression in dLGN and visTRN neurons.

Main Results:

Retinotopically organized cortical feedback was found to sharpen receptive fields (RFs) and increase surround suppression in the dLGN.
Thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) neurons exhibited large RFs and minimal surround suppression.
TRN neurons showed strong feedback-dependent responses, suggesting their role in mediating feedback effects.

Conclusions:

Cortical feedback plays a crucial role in sculpting spatial integration within the dLGN.
The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) is a likely mediator of feedback-enhanced surround suppression in the dLGN.
These findings elucidate a key mechanism by which the cortex influences thalamic visual processing.