Journal
NEUROIMAGE
Volume 249, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.118876
Keywords
Mediodorsal thalamic nucleus; Parcellation; Anatomical organization; Functional connectivity; Cognitive functions
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [91432302, 31620103905, 82072099, 31771076]
- Science Frontier Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [QYZDJ-SSW-SMC019]
- Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission [Z161100000216139, Z171100000117002]
- Beijing Advanced Discipline Fund
- Guangdong Pearl River Talents Plan [2016ZT06S220]
- McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience at Washington University
- [1U54MH091657]
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This study unveiled the anatomical and functional organization of the human mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD) and demonstrated the specific involvement of different subregions in cognitive functions, highlighting the various roles of the prefrontal-thalamic circuitry in human cognition.
The human mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD) is crucial for higher cognitive functions, while the fine anatomical organization of the MD and the function of each subregion remain elusive. In this study, using high-resolution data provided by the Human Connectome Project, an anatomical connectivity-based method was adopted to unveil the topographic organization of the MD. Four fine-grained subregions were identified in each hemisphere, including the medial (MDm), central (MDc), dorsal (MDd), and lateral (MDl), which recapitulated previous cytoarchitectonic boundaries from histological studies. The subsequent connectivity analysis of the subregions also demonstrated distinct anatomical and functional connectivity patterns, especially with the prefrontal cortex. To further evaluate the function of MD subregions, partial least squares analysis was performed to examine the relationship between different prefrontal-subregion connectivity and behavioral measures in 1012 subjects. The results showed subregion-specific involvement in a range of cognitive functions. Specifically, the MDm predominantly subserved emotional-cognition domains, while the MDl was involved in multiple cognitive functions especially cognitive flexibility and inhibition. The MDc and MDd were correlated with fluid intelligence, processing speed, and emotional cognition. In conclusion, our work provides new insights into the anatomical and functional organization of the MD and highlights the various roles of the prefrontal-thalamic circuitry in human cognition.
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