| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
The Journal of Neurophysiology Vol. 83 No. 5 May 2000, pp. 2791-2801
Copyright ©2000 by the American Physiological Society
Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261
Hartings, Jed A.,
Simona Temereanca, and
Daniel J. Simons.
High Responsiveness and Direction Sensitivity of Neurons in the
Rat Thalamic Reticular Nucleus to Vibrissa Deflections. J. Neurophysiol. 83: 2791-2801, 2000. The
thalamic reticular nucleus (Rt) is strategically positioned to
integrate descending and ascending signals in the control of
sensorimotor and other thalamocortical activity. Its prominent role in
the generation of sleep spindles notwithstanding, relatively little is
known of Rt function in regulating interactions with the sensory
environment. We recorded and compared the responses of individual Rt
and thalamocortical neurons in the ventroposterior medial (VPm) nucleus
of the rat to controlled deflections of mystacial vibrissae. Transient
Rt responses to the onset (ON) and offset (OFF)
of vibrissa deflection are larger and longer in duration than those of
VPm and of all other populations studied in the whisker/barrel pathway.
Magnitudes of ON and OFF responses in Rt were
negatively correlated with immediately preceding activities, suggesting
a contribution of low-threshold T-type Ca2+ channels. Rt
neurons also respond with high tonic firing rates during sustained
vibrissa deflections. By comparison, VPm neurons are less likely to
respond tonically and are more likely to exhibit tonic suppression. Rt
and VPm populations are similar to each other, however, in that they
retain properties of directional sensitivity established in primary
afferent neurons. In both populations neurons are selective for
deflection angle and exhibit directional consistency, responding best
to a particular direction of movement regardless of the starting
position of the vibrissal hair. These findings suggest a role for Rt in
the processing of detailed sensory information. Temporally, Rt may
function to limit the duration of stimulus-evoked VPm responses and to
focus them on rapid vibrissa perturbations. Moreover, by regulating the
baseline activity of VPm neurons, Rt may indirectly enhance the
response selectivity of layer IV barrel neurons to synchronous VPm firing.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  V. Khatri and D. J. Simons Angularly Nonspecific Response Suppression in Rat Barrel Cortex Cereb Cortex, March 1, 2007; 17(3): 599 - 609. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Leal-Campanario, J. M. Delgado-Garcia, and A. Gruart Microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex can substitute for vibrissa stimulation during Pavlovian conditioning PNAS, June 27, 2006; 103(26): 10052 - 10057. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R.-P. Behrendt Dysregulation of thalamic sensory 'transmission' in schizophrenia: neurochemical vulnerability to hallucinations J Psychopharmacol, May 1, 2006; 20(3): 356 - 372. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Hirata, J. Aguilar, and M. A. Castro-Alamancos Noradrenergic activation amplifies bottom-up and top-down signal-to-noise ratios in sensory thalamus. J. Neurosci., April 19, 2006; 26(16): 4426 - 4436. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. M. Huntsman and J. R. Huguenard Fast IPSCs in rat thalamic reticular nucleus require the GABAA receptor {beta}1 subunit J. Physiol., April 15, 2006; 572(2): 459 - 475. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Golomb, E. Ahissar, and D. Kleinfeld Coding of Stimulus Frequency by Latency in Thalamic Networks Through the Interplay of GABAB-Mediated Feedback and Stimulus Shape J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2006; 95(3): 1735 - 1750. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S.-W. Ying and P. A. Goldstein Propofol-Block of SK Channels in Reticular Thalamic Neurons Enhances GABAergic Inhibition in Relay Neurons J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2005; 93(4): 1935 - 1948. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. E. Kwegyir-Afful and A. Keller Response Properties of Whisker-Related Neurons in Rat Second Somatosensory Cortex J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2004; 92(4): 2083 - 2092. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Lavallee and M. Deschenes Dendroarchitecture and Lateral Inhibition in Thalamic Barreloids J. Neurosci., July 7, 2004; 24(27): 6098 - 6105. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Timofeeva, C. Merette, C. Emond, P. Lavallee, and M. Deschenes A Map of Angular Tuning Preference in Thalamic Barreloids J. Neurosci., November 19, 2003; 23(33): 10717 - 10723. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. Hartings, S. Temereanca, and D. J. Simons Processing of Periodic Whisker Deflections By Neurons in the Ventroposterior Medial and Thalamic Reticular Nuclei J Neurophysiol, November 1, 2003; 90(5): 3087 - 3094. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. S. Minnery, R. M. Bruno, and D. J. Simons Response Transformation and Receptive-Field Synthesis in the Lemniscal Trigeminothalamic Circuit J Neurophysiol, September 1, 2003; 90(3): 1556 - 1570. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Deschenes, E. Timofeeva, and P. Lavallee The Relay of High-Frequency Sensory Signals in the Whisker-to-Barreloid Pathway J. Neurosci., July 30, 2003; 23(17): 6778 - 6787. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. Hartings, S. Temereanca, and D. J. Simons State-Dependent Processing of Sensory Stimuli by Thalamic Reticular Neurons J. Neurosci., June 15, 2003; 23(12): 5264 - 5271. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. S. Minnery and D. J. Simons Response Properties of Whisker-Associated Trigeminothalamic Neurons in Rat Nucleus Principalis J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2003; 89(1): 40 - 56. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. M. Bruno and D. J. Simons Feedforward Mechanisms of Excitatory and Inhibitory Cortical Receptive Fields J. Neurosci., December 15, 2002; 22(24): 10966 - 10975. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. E. Landisman, M. A. Long, M. Beierlein, M. R. Deans, D. L. Paul, and B. W. Connors Electrical Synapses in the Thalamic Reticular Nucleus J. Neurosci., February 1, 2002; 22(3): 1002 - 1009. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. McAlonan, V. J. Brown, and E. M. Bowman Thalamic Reticular Nucleus Activation Reflects Attentional Gating during Classical Conditioning J. Neurosci., December 1, 2000; 20(23): 8897 - 8901. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. Hartings and D. J. Simons Inhibition Suppresses Transmission of Tonic Vibrissa-Evoked Activity in the Rat Ventrobasal Thalamus J. Neurosci., October 1, 2000; 20(19): RC100 - RC100. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |
