Ventral Midline Thalamus Is Critical for Hippocampal-Prefrontal Synchrony and Spatial Working Memory.
J Neurosci
; 36(32): 8372-89, 2016 08 10.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27511010
ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED Maintaining behaviorally relevant information in spatial working memory (SWM) requires functional synchrony between the dorsal hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, the mechanism that regulates synchrony between these structures remains unknown. Here, we used a unique dual-task approach to compare hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony while rats switched between an SWM-dependent task and an SWM-independent task within a single behavioral session. We show that task-specific representations in mPFC neuronal populations are accompanied by SWM-specific oscillatory synchrony and directionality between the dorsal hippocampus and mPFC. We then demonstrate that transient inactivation of the reuniens and rhomboid (Re/Rh) nuclei of the ventral midline thalamus abolished only the SWM-specific activity patterns that were seen during dual-task sessions within the hippocampal-prefrontal circuit. These findings demonstrate that Re/Rh facilitate bidirectional communication between the dorsal hippocampus and mPFC during SWM, providing evidence for a causal role of Re/Rh in regulating hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony and SWM-directed behavior. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony has long been thought to be critical for spatial working memory (SWM) and the ventral midline thalamic reuniens and rhomboid nuclei (Re/Rh) have long been considered a potential site for synchronizing the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex. However, the hypothesis that Re/Rh are critical for hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony and SWM has not been tested. We first used a dual-task approach to identify SWM-specific patterns of hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony. We then demonstrated that Re/Rh inactivation concurrently disrupted SWM-specific behavior and the SWM-specific patterns of hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony seen during dual-task performance. These results provide the first direct evidence that Re/Rh contribute to SWM by modulating hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Tálamo
/
Corteza Prefrontal
/
Memoria Espacial
/
Hipocampo
/
Memoria a Corto Plazo
/
Vías Nerviosas
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Neurosci
Año:
2016
Tipo del documento:
Article