Kawabata Kazuya, Bagarinao Epifanio, Watanabe Hirohisa, Maesawa Satoshi, Mori Daisuke, Hara Kazuhiro, Ohdake Reiko, Masuda Michihito, Ogura Aya, Kato Toshiyasu, Koyama Shuji, Katsuno Masahisa, Wakabayashi Toshihiko, Kuzuya Masafumi, Hoshiyama Minoru, Isoda Haruo, Naganawa Shinji, Ozaki Norio, Sobue Gen
Department of Neurology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
Brain and Mind Research Center, Nagoya University, Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
iScience. 2021 Sep 9;24(10):103106. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103106. eCollection 2021 Oct 22.
The thalamus is critical for the brain's integrative hub functions; however, the localization and characterization of the different thalamic hubs remain unclear. Using a voxel-level network measure called functional connectivity overlap ratio (FCOR), we examined the thalamus' association with large-scale resting-state networks (RSNs) to elucidate its connector hub roles. Connections to the core-neurocognitive networks were localized in the anterior and medial parts, such as the anteroventral and mediodorsal nuclei areas. Regions functionally connected to the sensorimotor network were distinctively located around the lateral pulvinar nucleus but to a limited extent. Prominent connector hubs include the anteroventral, ventral lateral, and mediodorsal nuclei with functional connections to multiple RSNs. These findings suggest that the thalamus, with extensive connections to most of the RSNs, is well placed as a critical integrative functional hub and could play an important role for functional integration facilitating brain functions associated with primary processing and higher cognition.
丘脑对于大脑的整合枢纽功能至关重要；然而，不同丘脑枢纽的定位和特征仍不清楚。我们使用一种称为功能连接重叠率（FCOR）的体素级网络测量方法，研究丘脑与大规模静息态网络（RSN）的关联，以阐明其连接枢纽作用。与核心神经认知网络的连接位于前部和内侧部分，如腹前核和背内侧核区域。在外侧枕核周围不同位置发现了与感觉运动网络功能相连的区域，但范围有限。突出的连接枢纽包括腹前核、腹外侧核和背内侧核，它们与多个RSN存在功能连接。这些发现表明，丘脑与大多数RSN有着广泛的连接，是一个关键的整合功能枢纽，可能在促进与初级加工和高级认知相关的大脑功能的功能整合中发挥重要作用。
