The non-specific matrix thalamus facilitates the cortical information processing modes relevant for conscious awareness.
Eli J Müller, Brandon R Munn, Michelle J. Redinbaugh, Joseph T Lizier, Michael Breakspear, Yuri B Saalmann, James M Shine
Cell Reports August 29, 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112844 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA whole-brain computational model of the corticothalamic system, built from empirical data on targeted and diffusely projecting thalamocortical nuclei, reproduces key features of propofol anesthesia: reduced network integration, lower state diversity, impaired susceptibility to perturbation, and decreased corticocortical coherence. These signatures indicate suppressed information transfer across the cerebral cortex. Selectively stimulating the matrix thalamus in the model restores signatures of conscious arousal, matching empirical results in macaques, and produces wake-like information processing states. The findings suggest that matrix thalamocortical projections modulate large-scale cortical attractor dynamics to enable the complex communication states that support conscious awareness.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Computational modeling study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | propofol anesthesia |
| Keywords | Cp Anesthesia Attractors Consciousness Cortex |
| Key finding | Selective stimulation of matrix thalamocortical projections in a whole-brain corticothalamic neural mass model recovers signatures of conscious arousal from propofol anesthesia, highlighting their role in shaping cortical dynamics for conscious awareness. |
Abstract
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.