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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 585/1/15    most recent jphysiol.2007.142240v1 Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Xu, M. Articles by He, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Xu, M. Articles by He, J. Related Collections Neuroscience

¹ Institute of Neuroscience, Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yueyang Road, Shanghai, China
² Depatment of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Neuronal responses to auditory stimuli and electrical stimulation were examined in 104 neurones in the auditory sector of thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) and nine medial geniculate (MGB) neurones from anaesthetized guinea pigs. TRN neurones showed rhythmic spontaneous activities. TRN neurones changed firing pattern over time, from tonic to burst in a time interval of several seconds to tens of seconds. One-third of the TRN neurones (25/76) responded to the acoustic stimulus in a slow oscillation mode, either producing a spike burst at one time and responded with nothing another time, or producing a spike burst at one time and a single spike at the other. Thirty-two of 40 neurones received a corticofugal modulation effect. Nineteen of 32 neurones responded directly to electrical stimulation of the cortex with an oscillation of the same rhythm (7–14 Hz) as its auditory-evoked oscillation. Six neurones changed their firing pattern from burst to tonic when the auditory cortex was activated. As the TRN applied inhibition to the MGB, the oscillatory nature of inhibition would affect the fidelity of MGB relays. Thus, it was unlikely that the MGB was in relay mode when the TRN was in a slow oscillation mode. These results hint at a possible mechanism for the modulation of states of vigilance through the corticofugal pathway via the TRN.

(Received 2 August 2007; accepted after revision 11 September 2007; first published online 13 September 2007)
Corresponding author J. He: Depatment of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Email: rsjufang{at}polyu.edu.hk

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				Z. Zhang, C.-H. Liu, Y.-Q. Yu, K. Fujimoto, Y.-S. Chan, and J. He Corticofugal Projection Inhibits the Auditory Thalamus Through the Thalamic Reticular Nucleus J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2008; 99(6): 2938 - 2945. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]