University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19711, United States.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021 Sep;128:415-420. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.033. Epub 2021 Jul 1.
Spatial working memory, the ability to temporarily maintain an internal representation of spatial information for use in guiding upcoming decisions, has been shown to be dependent upon a network of brain structures that includes the hippocampus, a region known to be critical for spatial navigation and episodic memory, and the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a region known to be critical for executive function and goal directed behavior. Oscillatory synchronization between the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is known to increase in situations of high working memory demand. Most of our knowledge about the anatomical connectivity between the PFC and hippocampus comes from the rodent literature. Thus, most of the findings that will be discussed here model human working memory using spatial working memory-dependent maze navigation tasks in rodents. It has been demonstrated that the ventral midline thalamic nucleus reuniens (Re) is reciprocally connected to both the infralimbic and prelimbic subregions of the PFC, collectively referred to as the medial PFC (mPFC), and the hippocampus. Given that the Re serves as a major anatomical route between the mPFC and hippocampus, it is perhaps not surprising that Re has been shown to be critical for spatial working memory. This review will describe the latest findings and ideas on how the Re contributes to prefrontal-hippocampal synchronization and spatial working memory in rodents. The review will conclude with possible future directions that will advance the understanding of the mechanisms that enable the Re to orchestrate long range synchrony in the prefrontal-hippocampal network.
空间工作记忆是指暂时维持内部空间信息表示以指导未来决策的能力，它依赖于一个包括海马体在内的大脑结构网络，海马体是空间导航和情景记忆的关键区域，而前额叶皮层（PFC）是执行功能和目标导向行为的关键区域。已知在高工作记忆需求的情况下，海马体和前额叶皮层（PFC）之间的振荡同步会增加。我们关于 PFC 和海马体之间解剖连接的大部分知识来自啮齿动物文献。因此，这里将讨论的大多数发现都是使用啮齿动物的空间工作记忆依赖的迷宫导航任务来模拟人类工作记忆。已经证明，腹侧中线丘脑核 reuniens（Re）与前额叶皮层的 infralimbic 和 prelimbic 亚区（统称为内侧前额叶皮层（mPFC））和海马体都有相互连接。鉴于 Re 是 mPFC 和海马体之间的主要解剖途径，因此，Re 对空间工作记忆至关重要也就不足为奇了。本综述将描述最新的发现和想法，探讨 Re 如何促进啮齿动物前额叶-海马体同步和空间工作记忆。最后，将讨论可能的未来方向，以促进对 Re 协调前额叶-海马体网络长程同步的机制的理解。
