This study was designed to examine possible anatomical changes of thalamocortical circuits in schizophrenics. Previous immunocytochemical studies have shown that parvalbumin, a calcium-binding protein, occurs in thalamocortical projection neurons, but not in GABAergic interneurons in the anteroventral thalamic nucleus (AN). Using parvalbumin-immunocytochemistry we investigated the densities of ...

The thalamocortical tract carries sensory information to the neocortex. It has long been recognized that the neocortical pioneer axons of subplate neurons are essential for thalamocortical development. Herein we report that an axon guidance cue, draxin, is expressed in early-born neocortical neurons, including subplate neurons, and is necessary for thalamocortical development. In draxin(-/-) mi...

Thalamocortical synapses may be able to undergo activity-dependent long-term changes in efficacy, such as long-term potentiation. Indeed, studies conducted in vivo have found that theta-burst stimulation (TBS) of the thalamus induces a long-term enhancement (LTE) of field potential responses evoked in the neocortex of adult rodents. Because the thalamus and neocortex form a complex interconnect...

The state of the sensory cortical network can have a profound impact on neural responses and perception. In rodent auditory cortex, sensory responses are reported to occur in the context of network events, similar to brief UP states, that produce "packets" of spikes and are associated with synchronized synaptic input (Bathellier et al., 2012; Hromadka et al., 2013; Luczak et al., 2013). However...

Sensory stimuli reach the brain via the thalamocortical projection, a group of axons thought to be among the most powerful in the neocortex. Surprisingly, these axons account for only approximately 15% of synapses onto cortical neurons. The thalamocortical pathway might thus achieve its effectiveness via high-efficacy thalamocortical synapses or via amplification within cortical layer 4. In rat...

There are two different kinds of tickle, knismesis (feather-light tickle) and gargalesis (more intense tickle eliciting involuntary laughter). In this article we review earlier recent advances in psychophysics neurophysiology touch afferents hypothesize that is signaled by populations rapidly adapted hair follicle afferents, can stimulate itch neurons via dorsal horn projections, heavily modera...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Thalamocortical connections play a crucial role in complex cognitive functioning, and several neuropsychiatric disorders may involve aberrant thalamocortical circuitry. Here, we quantified the cortical pattern and age-related changes of thalamocortical connections by using probabilistic tractography in children and adolescents. We hypothesized that detectable asymmetry (l...

Synapses between degenerating thalamocortical axon terminals and corticothalamic projection neurons labeled by the retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase have been identified in mouse Sml cortex. This monosynaptic thalamocortical-corticothalamic feedback loop is suggested to be involved in reinforcing differences in the levels of excitation between parallel components of thalamocortical...

Biochemical and pharmacological experiments support glutamate (Glu) as a thalamocortical transmitter, but do not distinguish direct from indirect effects (via excitation of glutamergic corticocortical fibers); anatomical studies to date have yielded variable results. We identified thalamocortical terminals in layer IV of primary somatic sensory, auditory, and visual cortex by injecting WGA-HRP ...