Developmental Ethanol Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, 13902-6000, USA.
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Neuropsychol Rev. 2021 Sep;31(3):447-471. doi: 10.1007/s11065-020-09450-8. Epub 2020 Aug 12.
The thalamus, a significant part of the diencephalon, is a symmetrical and bilateral central brain structure. The thalamus is subdivided into three major groups of nuclei based on their function: sensorimotor nuclei (or principal/relay nuclei), limbic nuclei and nuclei bridging these two domains. Anatomically, nuclei within the thalamus are described by their location, such as anterior, medial, lateral, ventral, and posterior. In this review, we summarize the role of medial and midline thalamus in cognition, ranging from learning and memory to flexible adaptation. We focus on the discoveries in animal models of alcohol-related brain damage, which identify the loss of neurons in the medial and midline thalamus as drivers of cognitive dysfunction associated with alcohol use disorders. Models of developmental ethanol exposure and models of adult alcohol-related brain damage and are compared and contrasted, and it was revealed that there are similar (anterior thalamus) and different (intralaminar [adult exposure] versus ventral midline [developmental exposure]) thalamic pathology, as well as disruptions of thalamo-hippocampal and thalamo-cortical circuits. The final part of the review summarizes approaches to recover alcohol-related brain damage and cognitive and behavioral outcomes. These approaches include pharmacological, nutritional and behavioral interventions that demonstrated the potential to mitigate alcohol-related damage. In summary, the medial/midline thalamus is a significant contributor to cognition function, which is also sensitive to alcohol-related brain damage across the life span, and plays a role in alcohol-related cognitive dysfunction.
丘脑是间脑的重要组成部分，是一种对称的双侧中枢脑结构。根据其功能，丘脑可分为三大核群：感觉运动核（或主要/中继核）、边缘核和连接这两个区域的核。从解剖学上讲，丘脑内的核团是根据其位置来描述的，如前、中、侧、腹侧和后。在这篇综述中，我们总结了内侧和中线丘脑在认知中的作用，从学习和记忆到灵活适应。我们专注于酒精相关脑损伤动物模型中的发现，这些发现确定了内侧和中线丘脑神经元的丧失是与酒精使用障碍相关的认知功能障碍的驱动因素。比较并对比了发育性乙醇暴露模型和成年酒精相关脑损伤模型，结果表明存在相似的（前丘脑）和不同的（中线核[成年暴露]与中线腹侧核[发育性暴露]）丘脑病理学，以及丘脑-海马和丘脑-皮质回路的中断。综述的最后一部分总结了恢复酒精相关脑损伤和认知及行为结果的方法。这些方法包括药物、营养和行为干预措施，这些措施显示出减轻酒精相关损伤的潜力。总之，内侧/中线丘脑是认知功能的重要贡献者，它在整个生命周期中对酒精相关脑损伤也很敏感，并在酒精相关认知功能障碍中发挥作用。
