Department of Pharmacology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Department of Pharmacology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Cell Rep. 2018 Jan 2;22(1):84-95. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.12.023.
Cognitive abilities, such as volitional attention, operate under top-down, executive frontal cortical control of hierarchically lower structures. The circuit mechanisms underlying this process are unresolved. The claustrum possesses interconnectivity with many cortical areas and, thus, is hypothesized to orchestrate the cortical mantle for top-down control. Whether the claustrum receives top-down input and how this input may be processed by the claustrum have yet to be formally tested, however. We reveal that a rich anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) input to the claustrum encodes a preparatory top-down information signal on a five-choice response assay that is necessary for optimal task performance. We further show that ACC input monosynaptically targets claustrum inhibitory interneurons and spiny glutamatergic projection neurons, the latter of which amplify ACC input in a manner that is powerfully constrained by claustrum inhibitory microcircuitry. These results demonstrate ACC input to the claustrum is critical for top-down control guiding action.
认知能力，如意志注意力，受自上而下的、执行性额皮质对层次较低结构的控制。该过程的回路机制尚未解决。屏状核与许多皮质区域具有相互连接性，因此被假设为协调皮质的自上而下控制。然而，屏状核是否接收自上而下的输入以及该输入如何被屏状核处理尚未得到正式检验。我们揭示了丰富的前扣带皮质（ACC）到屏状核的输入，在 5 选 1 的反应测试中编码了一个预备性的自上而下的信息信号，这对于最佳任务表现是必要的。我们进一步表明，ACC 的输入单突触靶向屏状核抑制性中间神经元和棘突谷氨酸能投射神经元，后者以一种受屏状核抑制性微回路强烈约束的方式放大 ACC 的输入。这些结果表明，ACC 到屏状核的输入对于自上而下的控制引导行动至关重要。
