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Wolff M, Halassa MM. The mediodorsal thalamus in executive control. Neuron 2024; 112:893-908. [PMID: 38295791 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Executive control, the ability to organize thoughts and action plans in real time, is a defining feature of higher cognition. Classical theories have emphasized cortical contributions to this process, but recent studies have reinvigorated interest in the role of the thalamus. Although it is well established that local thalamic damage diminishes cognitive capacity, such observations have been difficult to inform functional models. Recent progress in experimental techniques is beginning to enrich our understanding of the anatomical, physiological, and computational substrates underlying thalamic engagement in executive control. In this review, we discuss this progress and particularly focus on the mediodorsal thalamus, which regulates the activity within and across frontal cortical areas. We end with a synthesis that highlights frontal thalamocortical interactions in cognitive computations and discusses its functional implications in normal and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Wolff
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, INCIA, UMR 5287, 33000 Bordeaux, France.
| | - Michael M Halassa
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
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Segobin S, Ambler M, Laniepce A, Platel H, Chételat G, Groussard M, Pitel AL. Korsakoff's Syndrome and Alzheimer's Disease-Commonalities and Specificities of Volumetric Brain Alterations within Papez Circuit. J Clin Med 2023; 12:jcm12093147. [PMID: 37176588 PMCID: PMC10179200 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12093147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) are two major neurocognitive disorders characterized by amnesia but AD is degenerative while KS is not. The objective is to compare regional volume deficits within the Papez circuit in AD and KS, considering AD progression. Methods: 18 KS patients, 40 AD patients (20 with Moderate AD (MAD) matched on global cognitive deficits with KS patients and 20 with Severe AD (SAD)), and 70 healthy controls underwent structural MRI. Volumes of the hippocampi, thalami, cingulate gyri, mammillary bodies (MB) and mammillothalamic tracts (MTT) were extracted. Results: For the cingulate gyri, and anterior thalamic nuclei, all patient groups were affected compared to controls but did not differ between each other. Smaller volumes were observed in all patient groups compared to controls in the mediodorsal thalamic nuclei and MB, but these regions were more severely damaged in KS than AD. MTT volumes were damaged in KS only. Hippocampi were affected in all patient groups but more severely in the SAD than in the KS and MAD. Conclusions: There are commonalities in the pattern of volume deficits in KS and AD within the Papez circuit with the anterior thalamic nuclei, cingulate cortex and hippocampus (in MAD only) being damaged to the same extent. The specificity of KS relies on the alteration of the MTT and the severity of the MB shrinkage. Further comparative studies including other imaging modalities and a neuropsychological assessment are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shailendra Segobin
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Cyceron, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine (NIMH), 14000 Caen, France
| | - Melanie Ambler
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Cyceron, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine (NIMH), 14000 Caen, France
| | - Alice Laniepce
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Cyceron, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine (NIMH), 14000 Caen, France
- Normandie Univ, UNIROUEN, CRFDP (EA 7475), 76821 Rouen, France
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, INSERM, PhIND "Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders", Institut Blood and Brain @ Caen-Normandie, Cyceron, 14000 Caen, France
| | - Hervé Platel
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Cyceron, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine (NIMH), 14000 Caen, France
| | - Gael Chételat
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, INSERM, PhIND "Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders", Institut Blood and Brain @ Caen-Normandie, Cyceron, 14000 Caen, France
| | - Mathilde Groussard
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Cyceron, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine (NIMH), 14000 Caen, France
| | - Anne-Lise Pitel
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, INSERM, PhIND "Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders", Institut Blood and Brain @ Caen-Normandie, Cyceron, 14000 Caen, France
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Ritz L, Segobin S, Laniepce A, Lannuzel C, Boudehent C, Vabret F, Urso L, Pitel AL, Beaunieux H. Structural brain substrates of the deficits observed on the BEARNI test in alcohol use disorder and Korsakoff's syndrome. J Neurosci Res 2023; 101:130-142. [PMID: 36200527 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption can result in alcohol use disorder (AUD) without neurological complications and in Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) when combined with thiamine deficiency. These two clinical forms are accompanied by widespread structural brain damage in both the fronto-cerebellar (FCC) and Papez circuits (PC) as well as in the parietal cortex, resulting in cognitive and motor deficits. BEARNI is a screening tool especially designed to detect neuropsychological impairments in AUD. However, the sensitivity of this tool to the structural brain damage of AUD and KS patients remains unknown. Eighteen KS patients, 47 AUD patients and 27 healthy controls (HC) underwent the BEARNI test and a 3 T-MRI examination. Multiple regression analyses conducted between GM density and performance on each BEARNI subtest revealed correlations with regions included in the FCC, PC, thalamus and posterior cortex (precuneus and calcarine regions). All these brain regions were altered in KS compared to HC, in agreement with the cognitive deficits observed in the corresponding BEARNI subtests. The comparison between KS and AUD regarding the GM density in the several nodes of the FCC and calcarine regions revealed that they were atrophied to the same extent, suggesting that BEARNI is sensitive to the severity of alcohol-related GM abnormalities. Within the PC, the density of the cingulate cortex and thalamus, which correlated with the memory and fluency subscores, was smaller in KS than in AUD, suggesting that BEARNI is sensitive to specific brain abnormalities occurring in KS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludivine Ritz
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Caen Normandie (LPCN, EA 7452), Pôle Santé, Maladies, Handicaps - MRSH (USR 3486, CNRS-UNICAEN), Normandie Université, UNICAEN, Caen, France
| | - Shailendra Segobin
- EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine, PSL Research University, Normandie Université, Caen, France
| | - Alice Laniepce
- EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine, PSL Research University, Normandie Université, Caen, France
| | - Coralie Lannuzel
- EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine, PSL Research University, Normandie Université, Caen, France.,Service d'Addictologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen, Caen, France
| | - Céline Boudehent
- EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine, PSL Research University, Normandie Université, Caen, France.,Service d'Addictologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen, Caen, France
| | - François Vabret
- EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine, PSL Research University, Normandie Université, Caen, France.,Service d'Addictologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen, Caen, France
| | - Laurent Urso
- Service d'Addictologie, Centre Hospitalier Roubaix, Roubaix, France
| | - Anne Lise Pitel
- EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine, PSL Research University, Normandie Université, Caen, France.,INSERM, PhIND "Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders", Institut Blood and Brain @ Caen-Normandie, Cyceron, Normandie Université, UNICAEN, Caen, France.,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
| | - Hélène Beaunieux
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Caen Normandie (LPCN, EA 7452), Pôle Santé, Maladies, Handicaps - MRSH (USR 3486, CNRS-UNICAEN), Normandie Université, UNICAEN, Caen, France
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Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV, Zahr NM, Pohl KM, Saranathan M. Multi-atlas thalamic nuclei segmentation on standard T1-weighed MRI with application to normal aging. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 44:612-628. [PMID: 36181510 PMCID: PMC9842912 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Specific thalamic nuclei are implicated in healthy aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases. However, few methods are available for robust automated segmentation of thalamic nuclei. The threefold aims of this study were to validate the use of a modified thalamic nuclei segmentation method on standard T1 MRI data, to apply this method to quantify age-related volume declines, and to test functional meaningfulness by predicting performance on motor testing. A modified version of THalamus Optimized Multi-Atlas Segmentation (THOMAS) generated 22 unilateral thalamic nuclei. For validation, we compared nuclear volumes obtained from THOMAS parcellation of white-matter-nulled (WMn) MRI data to T1 MRI data in 45 participants. To examine the effects of age/sex on thalamic nuclear volumes, T1 MRI available from a second data set of 121 men and 117 women, ages 20-86 years, were segmented using THOMAS. To test for functional ramifications, composite regions and constituent nuclei were correlated with Grooved Pegboard test scores. THOMAS on standard T1 data showed significant quantitative agreement with THOMAS from WMn data, especially for larger nuclei. Sex differences revealing larger volumes in men than women were accounted for by adjustment with supratentorial intracranial volume (sICV). Significant sICV-adjusted correlations between age and thalamic nuclear volumes were detected in 20 of the 22 unilateral nuclei and whole thalamus. Composite Posterior and Ventral regions and Ventral Anterior/Pulvinar nuclei correlated selectively with higher scores from the eye-hand coordination task. These results support the use of THOMAS for standard T1-weighted data as adequately robust for thalamic nuclear parcellation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adolf Pfefferbaum
- Center for Health SciencesSRI InternationalMenlo ParkCaliforniaUSA,Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Edith V. Sullivan
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Natalie M. Zahr
- Center for Health SciencesSRI InternationalMenlo ParkCaliforniaUSA,Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Kilian M. Pohl
- Center for Health SciencesSRI InternationalMenlo ParkCaliforniaUSA,Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Manojkumar Saranathan
- Department of RadiologyUniversity of Massachusetts Chan Medical SchoolWorcesterMassachusettsUSA
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Cassel JC, de Vasconcelos AP. The thalamus: A long journey through successive translations (Editorial to the special issue entitled 'The Cognitive Thalamus'). Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 140:104779. [PMID: 35868523 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Christophe Cassel
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, F-67000 Strasbourg, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Anne Pereira de Vasconcelos
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, F-67000 Strasbourg, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION Alwyn Lishman was interested in how memory research could be applied to clinical psychiatry. After a brief review of his major contributions, this paper will focus on his research on the alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome. It will consider how his findings relate to contemporary debates, particularly on how the syndrome should be defined, and its relationship to broader alcohol-induced cognitive impairments. METHODS A review of the contribution of Alwyn Lishman, Robin Jacobson and colleagues to our knowledge of Korsakoff's syndrome, together with a review of the pertinent recent literature. RESULTS Lishman and colleagues followed earlier authors in defining the Korsakoff syndrome in terms of disproportionate memory impairment, but they also noted a variable degree of IQ, frontal-executive, and timed visuo-spatial impairment in their cases. More recent authors have included such features in their definitions of the syndrome. Lishman also argued for a specific "alcoholic dementia". The present paper argues that recent definitions of the Korsakoff syndrome confound its core and associated features, and also fail to recognise the multifactorial basis of alcohol-related brain damage. CONCLUSIONS Korsakoff's syndrome is best defined in terms of disproportionate memory impairment, and more widespread cognitive impairment is best encompassed within "alcohol-related brain damage".
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Kopelman
- King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, Surrey, UK
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