Anterior thalamic circuits crucial for working memory

Abstract

Significance Anterior thalamus exhibits significant functional changes with increasing age. While it has been associated with cognitive functions, the specific circuitry relevant for working memory remains unknown. The significance of this study is threefold: First, the anteroventral subdivision of anterior thalamic nuclei is necessary for working memory maintenance; second, aged mice showed a decrease in the excitability of anteroventral thalamic neurons, which correlated with a working memory impairment; and third, activating anteroventral thalamic neurons in aged mice was sufficient to improve their working memory.

Human assembloids reveal the consequences ofCACNA1Ggene variants in the thalamocortical pathway

“…Communication between the thalamus and the cerebral cortex via reciprocal thalamocortical projections is essential for processing sensory information and for modulating cognitive functions in the mammalian nervous system ( 1–3 ). Anatomical or functional dysconnectivity in the thalamocortical circuit is often associated with psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder ( 4, 5 ).…”

Chronic modulation of human memory and thalamic-hippocampal theta activities

“…working memory). Both these neural activities and the pattern of anatomical connectivity to the anterior prefrontal cortical areas are congruent with a higher-order executive function of the anterior thalamic nuclei related to memory and attention (45–50, 64) . A hotspot of the theta activities in the left anterior prefrontal cortex in the same task was recently identified (40) , confirming the highest magnitude of the memory effect immediately before word presentation in the cortical area directly connected to the anterior thalamic nuclei.…”

“…working memory). Both these neural activities and the pattern of anatomical connectivity to the anterior prefrontal cortical areas are congruent with a higher-order executive function of the anterior thalamic nuclei related to memory and attention (45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)64). A hotspot of the theta activities in the left anterior prefrontal (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder.…”

“…Here, we used a DBS system for continuous chronic recording and stimulation bilaterally in the anterior nucleus of the thalamus and in the hippocampus. The former is a target for treatment of seizures (43,44) and, more recently, has been proposed as a target for cognitive functions (45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50). The latter has been associated with mixed effects of acute DBS on memory performance (11,12,51).…”

Molecular tools for recording and intervention of neuronal activity

“…Another example, inducible Tango (iTango) and Specific Protein Association tool giving transcriptional Readout with rapid Kinetics (SPARK), which are modified versions that can be activated by exogenous ligands and light irradiation rather than by Ca 2+ and light irradiation, have been developed ( Kim et al, 2019 , Lee et al, 2017a , Lee et al, 2023 ). This modification would enable monitoring of the readout on neuronal activity ( Roy et al, 2022 ), as well as neuronal activity related to the activity of neuromodulators such as dopamine ( Lee et al, 2017a ).…”