Variation of connectivity across exemplar sensory and associative thalamocortical loops in the mouse
Author(s)
Mukherjee, Arghya; Bajwa, Navdeep; Lam, Norman H; Porrero, César; Clasca, Francisco; Halassa, Michael; ... Show more Show less
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The thalamus engages in sensation, action, and cognition, but the structure underlying these functions is poorly understood. Thalamic innervation of associative cortex targets several interneuron types, modulating dynamics and influencing plasticity. Is this structure-function relationship distinct from that of sensory thalamocortical systems? Here, we systematically compared function and structure across a sensory and an associative thalamocortical loop in the mouse. Enhancing excitability of mediodorsal thalamus, an associative structure, resulted in prefrontal activity dominated by inhibition. Equivalent enhancement of medial geniculate excitability robustly drove auditory cortical excitation. Structurally, geniculate axons innervated excitatory cortical targets in a preferential manner and with larger synaptic terminals, providing a putative explanation for functional divergence. The two thalamic circuits also had distinct input patterns, with mediodorsal thalamus receiving innervation from a diverse set of cortical areas. Altogether, our findings contribute to the emerging view of functional diversity across thalamic microcircuits and its structural basis.
Date issued
2020-10Department
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive SciencesJournal
eLife
Publisher
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Citation
Mukherjee, Arghya et al. "Variation of connectivity across exemplar sensory and associative thalamocortical loops in the mouse." eLife 9 (October 2020): e62554. © 2020 eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
Version: Final published version
ISSN
2050-084X