QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, March 24, 2004, 24(12):3060-3069; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4897-03.2004

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (20) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Yu, Y.-Q. Articles by He, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Yu, Y.-Q. Articles by He, J. Pubmed/NCBI databases Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH Hazardous Substances DB BIOTIN

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Corticofugal Gating of Auditory Information in the Thalamus: An In Vivo Intracellular Recording Study

Yan-Qin Yu,¹ Ying Xiong,^1,3,4 Ying-Shing Chan,² and Jufang He¹

¹Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China, ²Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, ³Laboratory of Neuroplasticity, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China, and ⁴Department of Physiology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 430038, China

In the present study, we investigated the auditory responses of the medial geniculate (MGB) neurons, through in vivo intracellular recordings of anesthetized guinea pigs, while the auditory cortex was electrically activated. Of the 63 neurons that received corticofugal modulation of the membrane potential, 30 received potentiation and 33 received hyperpolarization. The corticofugal potentiation of the membrane potential (amplitude, mean ± SD, 8.6 ± 5.5 mV; duration, 125.5 ± 75.4 msec) facilitated the auditory responses and spontaneous firing of the MGB neurons. The hyperpolarization of –11.3 ± 4.9 mV in amplitude and 210.0 ± 210.1 msec in duration suppressed the auditory responses and spontaneous firing of the MGB neurons. Four of the five neurons that were histologically confirmed to be located in the lemniscal MGB received corticofugal facilitatory modulation, and all of the four neurons that were confirmed to be located in the non-lemniscal MGB received corticofugal inhibitory modulation. The present intracellular recording provides novel results on how the corticofugal projection gates the sensory information in the thalamus: via the spatially selective depolarization of lemniscal MGB neurons and hyperpolarization of non-lemniscal MGB neurons. It is speculated that the systematic selectivity of facilitation and inhibition over the lemniscal and non-lemniscal MGB is related to the attention shift within the auditory modality and across the sensory modalities.

Key words: corticofugal modulation; the medial geniculate body; electrical stimulation; in vivo intracellular recording; excitatory postsynaptic potential; EPSP; inhibitory postsynaptic potential; IPSP; low-threshold calcium spike

---

Received Oct 31, 2003; revised January 25, 2004; accepted January 26, 2004.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Z. Zhang, C.-H. Liu, Y.-Q. Yu, K. Fujimoto, Y.-S. Chan, and J. He Corticofugal Projection Inhibits the Auditory Thalamus Through the Thalamic Reticular Nucleus J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2008; 99(6): 2938 - 2945. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Xu, C. H. Liu, Y. Xiong, and J. He Corticofugal modulation of the auditory thalamic reticular nucleus of the guinea pig J. Physiol., November 15, 2007; 585(1): 15 - 28. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. M. Weinberger Associative representational plasticity in the auditory cortex: A synthesis of two disciplines Learn. Mem., January 1, 2007; 14(1-2): 1 - 16. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Xiong, Y.-Q. Yu, Y.-S. Chan, and J. He Effects of cortical stimulation on auditory-responsive thalamic neurones in anaesthetized guinea pigs J. Physiol., October 1, 2004; 560(1): 207 - 217. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help