Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: The thalamostriatal system is a major network in the mammalian brain, originating principally from the intralaminar nuclei of thalamus. Functions of the thalamostriatal system remain unclear, but a subset of these projections provides a pathway through which the cerebellum communicates with the basal ganglia. Both the cerebellum and basal ganglia play crucial roles in motor control. Although songbirds have yielded key insights into the neural basis of vocal learning, it is unknown whether a thalamostriatal system exists in the songbird brain. Thalamic nucleus DLM is an important part of the song system, the network of nuclei required for learning and producing song. DLM receives output from song system basal ganglia nucleus Area X and sits within dorsal thalamus, the proposed avian homolog of the mammalian intralaminar nuclei that also receives projections from the cerebellar nuclei. Using a viral vector that specifically labels presynaptic axon segments, we show in Bengalese finches that dorsal thalamus projects to Area X, the basal ganglia nucleus of the song system, and to surrounding medial striatum. To identify the sources of thalamic input to Area X, we map DLM and cerebellar-recipient dorsal thalamus (DT CbN ). Surprisingly, we find both DLM and immediately-adjacent subregions of DT CbN project to Area X. In contrast, a medial-ventral subregion of DT CbN projects to medial striatum outside Area X. Our results suggest the basal ganglia in the song system, like the mammalian basal ganglia, integrate feedback from the thalamic region to which they project as well as thalamic regions that receive cerebellar output.
DOI: 10.1002/cne.24428
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: The neural basis of online error correction, Vocal motor control and sensorimotor learning - behavior, muscles, and neurons, Neuronal circuit mechanisms for learning during social interactions, G436868585, BRAIN EAGER: Tagging the Genetic, Synaptic, and Network Origins of Learning from Social Experiences, The Neuronal Basis of Tutor Song Memory, G8514575126, G9000175105
OpenAlex ID: W2950110603