Cortical and Subcortical Connections of the Thalamic Nuclei CM and MD - A DTI Tractography Study

Eckert, Ulf; Kaufmann, Joern; Osoba, Annemarie; Steiner, Johann; Bogerts, B.; Walter, Marc

doi:10.1016/s1053-8119(09)70917-6

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“…Reciprocal connections to the anterior insula have been described in rats (Allen et al, 1991), hamsters (Reep and Winans, 1982a,b), and in monkeys (Ray and Price, 1992, 1993). Functional connectivity of MD with the anterior insula has also been shown in humans (Seeley et al, 2007) and anatomical studies in vivo , using DTI, showed MD connections to anterior insula and PFC (Eckert et al, 2009; Klein et al, 2010; Zhang et al, 2010). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Only few studies reported connections of CM/PF with the anterior insula in hamsters (Reep and Winans, 1982a,b) and in rhesus monkeys (Mufson and Mesulam, 1984). In humans, anatomical connections especially from CM/PF to dACC, anterior insula and to a majority of subcortical structures are supported by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) results (Eckert et al, 2009). Our findings show a coactivation of CM/PF with dACC and the anterior insula indicating a functional connectivity of these regions under the task condition.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

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High field fMRI reveals thalamocortical integration of segregated cognitive and emotional processing in mediodorsal and intralaminar thalamic nuclei

et al. 2010

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Thalamocortical loops, connecting functionally segregated, higher order cortical regions, and basal ganglia, have been proposed not only for well described motor and sensory regions, but also for limbic and prefrontal areas relevant for affective and cognitive processes. These functions are, however, more specific to humans, rendering most invasive neuroanatomical approaches impossible and interspecies translations difficult. In contrast, non-invasive imaging of functional neuroanatomy using fMRI allows for the development of elaborate task paradigms capable of testing the specific functionalities proposed for these circuits. Until recently, spatial resolution largely limited the anatomical definition of functional clusters at the level of distinct thalamic nuclei. Since their anatomical distinction seems crucial not only for the segregation of cognitive and limbic loops but also for the detection of their functional interaction during cognitive–emotional integration, we applied high resolution fMRI on 7 Tesla. Using an event-related design, we could isolate thalamic effects for preceding attention as well as experience of erotic stimuli. We could demonstrate specific thalamic effects of general emotional arousal in mediodorsal nucleus and effects specific to preceding attention and expectancy in intralaminar centromedian/parafascicular complex. These thalamic effects were paralleled by specific coactivations in the head of caudate nucleus as well as segregated portions of rostral or caudal cingulate cortex and anterior insula supporting distinct thalamo–striato–cortical loops. In addition to predescribed effects of sexual arousal in hypothalamus and ventral striatum, high resolution fMRI could extent this network to paraventricular thalamus encompassing laterodorsal and parataenial nuclei. We could lend evidence to segregated subcortical loops which integrate cognitive and emotional aspects of basic human behavior such as sexual processing.

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