title: The functional connectivity of intralaminar thalamic nuclei in the human basal ganglia.
abstract: Projections of the centromedian-parafasicularis neurons of the intralaminar thalamus are major inputs of the striatum. Their functional role in the activity of human basal ganglia (BG) is not well known. The aim of this work was to study the functional connectivity of intralaminar thalamic nuclei with other BG by using the correlations of the BOLD signal recorded during "resting" and a motor task. Intralaminar nuclei showed a marked functional connectivity with all the tested BG, which was observed during "resting" and did not change with the motor task. As regards the intralaminar nuclei, BG connectivity was much lower for the medial dorsal nucleus (a thalamic nucleus bordering the intralaminar nuclei) and for the default mode network (although intralaminar nuclei showed a negative correlation with the default mode network). After the "regression" of intralaminar nuclei activity (partial correlation), the functional connectivity of the caudate and putamen nuclei with other BG decreased (but not with the primary sensorimotor cortex). Present data provide evidence that intralaminar nuclei are not only critical for striatal activity but also for the global performance of human BG, an action involving subcortical BG loops more than cortico-subcortical loops. The high correlation found between BG suggest that, similarly to that reported in other brain centers, the very-slow frequency fluctuations are relevant for the functional activity of these centers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Laboratory of Neurobiology and Experimental Neurology, University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain; Center for Networked Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Sabate
authors.forename: Catalina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Llanos
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garcia-Alvarez
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sabate
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020646:Intralaminar Thalamic Nuclei / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D012146:Rest; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: basal ganglia; functional connectivity; intralaminar thalamus