The search for a role of the caudal intralaminar nuclei in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease.
The situation of the caudal intralaminar thalamic nuclei within basal ganglia circuits has gained increased attention over the past few years. Although initially considered as a "non-specific" thalamic nuclei, tract-tracing studies carried out over the past two decades have demonstrated that the centromedian-parafascicular thalamic complex (CM-Pf) is connected to virtually all basal ganglia components and related nuclei. Although the anatomical basis sustaining the thalamic modulation of basal ganglia circuits has long been characterized, the functional significance of these transverse circuits still remain to be properly accommodated within the basal ganglia model, both under normal conditions as well as in situations of dopaminergic depletion. However, the recent demonstration of primary (e.g., non-dopamine related) neurodegenerative phenomena restricted to the CM-Pf in Parkinson's disease (PD) has renewed interest in the role played by the caudal intralaminar nuclei in the pathophysiology of PD. Concomitantly, evidence has become available of increased metabolic activity in the caudal intralaminar nuclei in rodent models of PD. Finally, CM-Pf neurosurgery in patients suffering from PD has produced contrasting outcomes, indicating that a consensus is still to be reached regarding the potential usefulness of targeting the caudal intralaminar nuclei to treat movement disorders of basal ganglia origin.
Lanciego
José L
JL
Area de Neurociencias, Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA) y Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Navarra, Spain. jlanciego@unav.es
López
Icíar P
IP
Rico
Alberto J
AJ
Aymerich
María S
MS
Pérez-Manso
Mónica
M
Conte
Lorena
L
Combarro
Carolina
C
Roda
Elvira
E
Molina
Carmen
C
Gonzalo
Nancy
N
Castle
María
M
Tuñón
Teresa
T
Erro
Elena
E
Barroso-Chinea
Pedro
P
D000818:Animals; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D020646:Intralaminar Thalamic Nuclei / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome