Thalamic nuclei show an intertwined structural connectivity with cortical and subcortical areas
Poster No:
1760
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Vinod Jangir1, Manojkumar Saranathan2, Ivan Araujo3
Institutions:
1Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, NA, 22University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 3Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Baden-Württemberg
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
Thalamic nuclei interact with diverse peripheral nervous system signals via subcortex and play a role in cortico-cortical interactions for different brain functions (Sherman, 2016). Thalamic nuclei are classified into specific nuclei (core), projecting topographically to distinct cortical areas, and non-specific nuclei (matrix), projecting diffusely to cortical and subcortical regions. For instance, researchers classify the LGN as a core nucleus and the Pulvinar as a matrix nucleus. This organization suggests localized function-specific nuclei and broad brain-area integration-specific nuclei. However, the dominance of cortico-thalamic connections over thalamocortical connections may blur these distinctions (Antunes & Malmierca, 2021). Despite its functional significance, the detailed delineation of structural connectivity of the thalamus nuclei remains limited in the human brain. Therefore, this study investigates the specific and non-specific thalamic nuclei by exploring their structural connectivity patterns with cortical and subcortical areas.
Methods:
Data: This study utilized diffusion spectrum imaging data of 730 young adults from the Human Connectome Project (Van Essen et al., 2012). The data were acquired with a spin-echo EPI sequence (voxel size: 1.25 mm isotropic; b-values: 1K, 2K, 3K s/mm²; 90 directions per shell).
Data Analysis:
The diffusion data was preprocessed with the HCP pipeline (Sotiropoulos et al., 2013; Van Essen et al., 2013). Each thalamus nuclei was defined using a Morel histological atlas( Krauth et al., 2010) aligned to subject-native diffusion space through linear and non-linear registration using FSL tools. The structural connectivity map of each thalamus nucleus was calculated using probabilistic tractography (Jenkinson et al., 2012).
Group Structural Connectivity Maps:
Native-space tractograms were registered to MNI space using non-linear transformations. In the next step, group-level fixed effects were calculated and thresholded to remove the spurious connectivity probabilities. Finally, overlap analysis and anatomical assignments of the group connectivity maps were performed for cortical and subcortical regions using available atlases in MNI space (Bianciardi et al., 2015; Jenkinson et al., 2012).
Data Analysis:
The diffusion data was preprocessed with the HCP pipeline (Sotiropoulos et al., 2013; Van Essen et al., 2013). Each thalamus nuclei was defined using a Morel histological atlas( Krauth et al., 2010) aligned to subject-native diffusion space through linear and non-linear registration using FSL tools. The structural connectivity map of each thalamus nucleus was calculated using probabilistic tractography (Jenkinson et al., 2012).
Group Structural Connectivity Maps:
Native-space tractograms were registered to MNI space using non-linear transformations. In the next step, group-level fixed effects were calculated and thresholded to remove the spurious connectivity probabilities. Finally, overlap analysis and anatomical assignments of the group connectivity maps were performed for cortical and subcortical regions using available atlases in MNI space (Bianciardi et al., 2015; Jenkinson et al., 2012).
Results:
The analysis revealed widespread connectivity of thalamic nuclei with subcortical and cortical areas (Figure 1a, 2). For example, all thalamic nuclei show connectivity with the brainstem (Figure 1, 2a). The group connectivity maps further highlight overlapping connectivity patterns among thalamic nuclei (Figure 1b, 2a-c). Interestingly, the connectivity maps reveal that specific thalamic nuclei are not limited to a single subcortical or cortical region (Figure 1a, 2). Anatomical assignment analysis of core and matrix nuclei shows that core nuclei exhibit connectivity patterns not confined to specific brain areas only (Figure 2a-c). Such connectivity patterns suggest that core thalamus nuclei may engage in multiple brain functions.
Conclusions:
The overlapping structural connectivity patterns of thalamus nuclei with cortical and subcortical regions indicate a broader functional role beyond sensory relay functions. All thalamic nuclei show connectivity with brainstem nuclei, suggesting their broader role in brain functions as well as in brain-body interactions. It is important to note that different methods are needed for a precise mapping of the connectivity of thalamus nuclei, as the diffusion MRI has limitations, including dependence on acquisition parameters, false positives, missing information of fiber directionality and indirect measure of structural connectivity. Dense packing of thalamic nuclei and crossing fibres within the thalamus may obscure connectivity patterns, while atlas-based methods fail to account for individual variability. Nevertheless, this study provides a holistic perspective on the connectivity of thalamic nuclei, highlighting their extensive structural interactions.
Neuroanatomy, Physiology, Metabolism and Neurotransmission:
Subcortical Structures 1
White Matter Anatomy, Fiber Pathways and Connectivity 2
Keywords:
Cortex
Sub-Cortical
Thalamus
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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