HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 100/1/317    most recent 90391.2008v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lee, C. C. Articles by Sherman, S. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lee, C. C. Articles by Sherman, S. M.

Synaptic Properties of Thalamic and Intracortical Inputs to Layer 4 of the First- and Higher-Order Cortical Areas in the Auditory and Somatosensory Systems

Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

Submitted 22 March 2008; accepted in final form 21 April 2008

The thalamus is an essential structure in the mammalian forebrain conveying information topographically from the sensory periphery to primary neocortical areas. Beyond this initial processing stage, "higher-order" thalamocortical connections have been presumed to serve only a modulatory role, or are otherwise functionally disregarded. Here we demonstrate that these "higher-order" thalamic nuclei share similar synaptic properties with the "first-order" thalamic nuclei. Using whole cell recordings from layer 4 neurons in thalamocortical slice preparations in the mouse somatosensory and auditory systems, we found that electrical stimulation in all thalamic nuclei elicited large, glutamatergic excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) that depress in response to repetitive stimulation and that fail to activate a metabotropic glutamate response. In contrast, the intracortical inputs from layer 6 to layer 4 exhibit facilitating EPSPs. These data suggest that higher-order thalamocortical projections may serve a functional role similar to the first-order nuclei, whereas both are physiologically distinct from the intracortical layer 6 inputs. These results suggest an alternate route for information transfer between cortical areas via a corticothalamocortical pathway.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. C. Lee and S. M. Sherman Glutamatergic Inhibition in Sensory Neocortex Cereb Cortex, October 1, 2009; 19(10): 2281 - 2289. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Petrof and S. M. Sherman Synaptic Properties of the Mammillary and Cortical Afferents to the Anterodorsal Thalamic Nucleus in the Mouse J. Neurosci., June 17, 2009; 29(24): 7815 - 7819. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. J. Zhu Activity Level-Dependent Synapse-Specific AMPA Receptor Trafficking Regulates Transmission Kinetics J. Neurosci., May 13, 2009; 29(19): 6320 - 6335. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]