Motanis Helen, Khorasani Laila N, Giza Christopher C, Harris Neil G
UCLA Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Geffen Medical School, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Department of Pediatrics, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Neurotrauma Rep. 2021 Dec 2;2(1):564-580. doi: 10.1089/neur.2021.0044. eCollection 2021.
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is a posterior cortical area that has been drawing increasing interest in recent years, with a growing number of studies studying its contribution to cognitive and sensory functions. From an anatomical perspective, it has been established that the RSC is extensively and often reciprocally connected with the hippocampus, neocortex, and many midbrain regions. Functionally, the RSC is an important hub of the default-mode network. This endowment, with vast anatomical and functional connections, positions the RSC to play an important role in episodic memory, spatial and contextual learning, sensory-cognitive activities, and multi-modal sensory information processing and integration. Additionally, RSC dysfunction has been reported in cases of cognitive decline, particularly in Alzheimer's disease and stroke. We review the literature to examine whether the RSC can act as a cortical marker of persistent cognitive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Because the RSC is easily accessible at the brain's surface using techniques, we argue that studying RSC network activity post-TBI can shed light into the mechanisms of less-accessible brain regions, such as the hippocampus. There is a fundamental gap in the TBI field about the microscale alterations occurring post-trauma, and by studying the RSC's neuronal activity at the cellular level we will be able to design better therapeutic tools. Understanding how neuronal activity and interactions produce normal and abnormal activity in the injured brain is crucial to understanding cognitive dysfunction. By using this approach, we expect to gain valuable insights to better understand brain disorders like TBI.
压后皮质（RSC）是位于大脑后部的一个皮质区域，近年来受到越来越多的关注，有越来越多的研究探讨其对认知和感觉功能的作用。从解剖学角度来看，已经明确RSC与海马体、新皮质以及许多中脑区域广泛且常常相互连接。在功能方面，RSC是默认模式网络的一个重要枢纽。这种具有广泛解剖和功能连接的特性，使RSC在情景记忆、空间和情境学习、感觉认知活动以及多模态感觉信息处理与整合中发挥重要作用。此外，在认知衰退的病例中，特别是在阿尔茨海默病和中风患者中，已报道存在RSC功能障碍。我们回顾文献，以研究RSC是否可作为创伤性脑损伤（TBI）后持续性认知功能障碍的皮质标志物。由于使用相关技术可在大脑表面轻易获取RSC，我们认为研究TBI后RSC的网络活动能够揭示诸如海马体等难以触及的脑区的机制。在TBI领域，关于创伤后发生的微观尺度改变存在一个基本的认知空白，通过在细胞水平研究RSC的神经元活动，我们将能够设计出更好的治疗工具。理解神经元活动和相互作用如何在受伤大脑中产生正常和异常活动对于理解认知功能障碍至关重要。通过采用这种方法，我们期望获得有价值的见解，以更好地理解像TBI这样的脑部疾病。
