Cognitive enhancement with central thalamic electrical stimulation.
Central thalamic electrical stimulation has been proposed as a method for remediation of acquired cognitive disability. Long-standing experimental and clinical observations indicate a key role for neurons within the central thalamus in maintaining the alert waking state and facilitating attended behaviors. Here, we show that continuous high frequency (100 Hz) electrical stimulation of the central thalamus generates widespread cortical activation of c-fos across all cortical layers and a selective pattern of regulation of zif268 within the supragranular, granular, and infragranular cortical laminae. Significant elevation of both immediate early genes also is seen in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Use of the same stimulation parameters is shown to facilitate untrained goal-directed seeking behavior and object recognition memory in rodents. An overall increase of exploratory motor behaviors and grooming activity also is observed, consistent with a global increase in arousal. Taken together, these studies indicate that electrical stimulation of the central thalamus may enhance cognitive performance through neocortical and hippocampal neuronal activation and specific regulation of gene expression.
Shirvalkar
Prasad
P
Department of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.
Seth
Malika
M
Schiff
Nicholas D
ND
Herrera
Daniel G
DG
D000818:Animals; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D051766:Early Growth Response Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015870:Gene Expression; D016762:Genes, fos; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013788:Thalamus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology
D051766:Early Growth Response Protein 1; C486110:Egr1 protein, rat; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos