Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Centre for Complex Systems, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Computer Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Centre for Complex Systems, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Cell Rep. 2023 Aug 29;42(8):112844. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112844. Epub 2023 Jul 25.
The neurobiological mechanisms of arousal and anesthesia remain poorly understood. Recent evidence highlights the key role of interactions between the cerebral cortex and the diffusely projecting matrix thalamic nuclei. Here, we interrogate these processes in a whole-brain corticothalamic neural mass model endowed with targeted and diffusely projecting thalamocortical nuclei inferred from empirical data. This model captures key features seen in propofol anesthesia, including diminished network integration, lowered state diversity, impaired susceptibility to perturbation, and decreased corticocortical coherence. Collectively, these signatures reflect a suppression of information transfer across the cerebral cortex. We recover these signatures of conscious arousal by selectively stimulating the matrix thalamus, recapitulating empirical results in macaque, as well as wake-like information processing states that reflect the thalamic modulation of large-scale cortical attractor dynamics. Our results highlight the role of matrix thalamocortical projections in shaping many features of complex cortical dynamics to facilitate the unique communication states supporting conscious awareness.
觉醒和麻醉的神经生物学机制仍未被充分理解。最近的证据强调了大脑皮层与广泛投射的丘脑基质核之间相互作用的关键作用。在这里，我们在一个具有靶向和广泛投射的丘脑皮质核的全脑皮质丘脑神经质量模型中研究这些过程，这些核是从经验数据推断出来的。该模型捕获了异丙酚麻醉中观察到的关键特征，包括网络集成减少、状态多样性降低、对干扰的敏感性降低以及皮质内相干性降低。这些特征共同反映了大脑皮层之间信息传递的抑制。我们通过选择性刺激基质丘脑来恢复这些意识觉醒的特征，再现了猕猴的实验结果，以及类似于觉醒的信息处理状态，反映了丘脑对皮质吸引子动力学的调制。我们的结果强调了基质丘脑皮质投射在塑造复杂皮质动力学的许多特征中的作用，以促进支持意识的独特通信状态。
