{"doi":"10.1523/jneurosci.3073-10.2011","title":"Functional Organization of the Thalamic Input to the Thalamic Reticular Nucleus","abstract":"<jats:p>Most axons connecting the thalamus and cortex in both directions pass through the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), a thin layer of GABAergic cells adjacent to the thalamus, and innervate neurons there. The TRN, therefore, is in a strategic location to regulate thalamocortical communication. We recorded neurons of the somatosensory region of the TRN in a thalamocortical slice preparation and studied the spatial organization of their thalamic input using laser scanning photostimulation. We show that the thalamoreticular pathway is organized topographically for most neurons. The somatosensory region of the TRN can be organized into three tiers. From the inner (thalamoreticular) border to the outer, in a manner roughly reciprocal to the reticulothalamic pathway, each of these tiers receives its input from one of the somatosensory relays of the thalamus—the posterior medial, ventroposterior medial, and ventroposterior lateral nuclei. What is surprising is that approximately a quarter of the recorded neurons received input from multiple thalamic regions usually located in different nuclei. These neurons distribute evenly throughout the thickness of the TRN. Our results, therefore, suggest that there exist a subpopulation of TRN neurons that receive convergent inputs from multiple thalamic sources and engage in more complex patterns of inhibition of relay cells. We propose these neurons enable the TRN to act as an externally driven “searchlight” that integrates cortical and subcortical inputs and then inhibits or disinhibits specific thalamic relay cells, so that appropriate information can get through the thalamus to the cortex.</jats:p>","journal":"The Journal of Neuroscience","year":2011,"id":598054,"datarank":0.7168685239667295,"base_score":4.77912349311153,"endowment":4.77912349311153,"self_citation_contribution":0.7168685239667295,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.7168685239667295,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":118,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":291932,"name":"S. Murray Sherman","orcid":"0000-0002-1520-2778","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1532305,"name":"Ying-Wan Lam","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Functional Organization of the Thalamic Input to the Thalamic Reticular Nucleus","abstract":"<jats:p>Most axons connecting the thalamus and cortex in both directions pass through the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), a thin layer of GABAergic cells adjacent to the thalamus, and innervate neurons there. The TRN, therefore, is in a strategic location to regulate thalamocortical communication. We recorded neurons of the somatosensory region of the TRN in a thalamocortical slice preparation and studied the spatial organization of their thalamic input using laser scanning photostimulation. We show that the thalamoreticular pathway is organized topographically for most neurons. The somatosensory region of the TRN can be organized into three tiers. From the inner (thalamoreticular) border to the outer, in a manner roughly reciprocal to the reticulothalamic pathway, each of these tiers receives its input from one of the somatosensory relays of the thalamus—the posterior medial, ventroposterior medial, and ventroposterior lateral nuclei. What is surprising is that approximately a quarter of the recorded neurons received input from multiple thalamic regions usually located in different nuclei. These neurons distribute evenly throughout the thickness of the TRN. Our results, therefore, suggest that there exist a subpopulation of TRN neurons that receive convergent inputs from multiple thalamic sources and engage in more complex patterns of inhibition of relay cells. We propose these neurons enable the TRN to act as an externally driven “searchlight” that integrates cortical and subcortical inputs and then inhibits or disinhibits specific thalamic relay cells, so that appropriate information can get through the thalamus to the cortex.</jats:p>","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":4.77912349311153,"endowment":4.77912349311153,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"21543609","pmcid":"PMC3565464","openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W2090407505","authors":[],"funders":[{"funder_name":"NEI NIH HHS","grant_id":"R01 EY003038","title":null},{"funder_name":"NIDCD NIH HHS","grant_id":"DC-008794","title":null},{"funder_name":"NEI NIH HHS","grant_id":"EY-03038","title":null},{"funder_name":"NINDS NIH HHS","grant_id":"NS-058468","title":null},{"funder_name":"NIDCD NIH HHS","grant_id":"R01 DC008794","title":null},{"funder_name":"NINDS NIH HHS","grant_id":"R03 NS058468","title":null}],"total_grants":6,"fwci":2.5074,"citation_percentile":0.88841248,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[{"year":2012,"count":4},{"year":2013,"count":6},{"year":2014,"count":6},{"year":2015,"count":11},{"year":2016,"count":7},{"year":2017,"count":7},{"year":2018,"count":8},{"year":2019,"count":8},{"year":2020,"count":10},{"year":2021,"count":11},{"year":2022,"count":11},{"year":2023,"count":6},{"year":2024,"count":5},{"year":2025,"count":4},{"year":2026,"count":12}],"oa_status":"bronze","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/31/18/6791.full.pdf","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/31/18/6791.full.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://syndication.highwire.org/content/doi/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3073-10.2011","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.3073-10.2011","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21543609","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/3565464","host_type":"repository"}],"fields_of_study":["Neural dynamics and brain function","Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research","Photoreceptor and optogenetics research","Animals","Axons","Mice","Mice, Inbred BALB C","Neural Pathways","Neurons","Patch-Clamp Techniques","Thalamic Nuclei","Thalamus"],"mesh_terms":["Animals","Axons","Mice, Inbred BALB C","Neural Pathways","Neurons","Thalamic Nuclei","Thalamus","Patch-Clamp Techniques","Mice"],"keywords":["Thalamus","Thalamic reticular nucleus","Neuroscience","Somatosensory system","Photostimulation","Biology","Reticular connective tissue","Nucleus","GABAergic","Cortex (anatomy)","Optogenetics","Anatomy","Inhibitory postsynaptic potential"],"sdg_mappings":[],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-28T14:56:29.346231Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}