Thalamic circuits for independent control of prefrontal signal and noise
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s41586-021-04056-3.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
11.15 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
5f2b09a5b9732cebef6681805f2f2b4e
Author(s)
Mukherjee, Arghya
Lam, Norman H
Wimmer, Ralf D
Halassa, Michael M
Date Issued
October 6, 2021
Journal
Nature
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Citation
Mukherjee, Arghya, Lam, Norman H, Wimmer, Ralf D and Halassa, Michael M. 2021. "Thalamic circuits for independent control of prefrontal signal and noise." Nature.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
AbstractInteractions between the mediodorsal thalamus and the prefrontal cortex are critical for cognition. Studies in humans indicate that these interactions may resolve uncertainty in decision-making1, but the precise mechanisms are unknown. Here we identify two distinct mediodorsal projections to the prefrontal cortex that have complementary mechanistic roles in decision-making under uncertainty. Specifically, we found that a dopamine receptor (D2)-expressing projection amplifies prefrontal signals when task inputs are sparse and a kainate receptor (GRIK4) expressing-projection suppresses prefrontal noise when task inputs are dense but conflicting. Collectively, our data suggest that there are distinct brain mechanisms for handling uncertainty due to low signals versus uncertainty due to high noise, and provide a mechanistic entry point for correcting decision-making abnormalities in disorders that have a prominent prefrontal component2–6.
MIT Department
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04056-3
