私たちが空間をどのように移動し、記憶をどのように保存するのかについて新たな知見が得られる(UC Irvine-led study reveals new insights into how we navigate space and store memories)

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2024-11-14 カリフォルニア大学校アーバイン校(UCI)

カリフォルニア大学アーバイン校の研究チームは、脳の後帯状皮質(RSC)における2つの神経回路が、空間ナビゲーションと記憶の保存に直接関与していることを初めて明らかにしました。この発見は、アルツハイマー病などの認知障害に対するより精密な治療法の開発に寄与する可能性があります。研究では、RSC内の2種類の経路、すなわち二次運動皮質(M2)と前視床(AD)への投射経路が特定され、それぞれが異なる認知機能に関与していることが示されました。M2への投射経路は空間的思考を行動に変換する役割を持ち、ADへの投射経路は特定の場所の記憶に重要であることが判明しました。この知見は、特定の脳領域がどのように学習や記憶に関与しているかを理解する上で重要であり、将来的な治療法の開発に新たな道を開くものです。

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空間認知への寄与に差のある後頭葉皮質の投射特異的回路 Projection-specific circuits of retrosplenial cortex with differential contributions to spatial cognition

Xiaoxiao Lin,Ali Ghafuri,Xiaojun Chen,Musab Kazmi,Douglas A. Nitz & Xiangmin Xu
Molecular Psychiatry  Published:07 November 2024
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-024-02819-8

私たちが空間をどのように移動し、記憶をどのように保存するのかについて新たな知見が得られる(UC Irvine-led study reveals new insights into how we navigate space and store memories)

Abstract

Retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is a brain region involved in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. It has reciprocal connections with a diverse set of cortical and subcortical brain regions, but the afferent structure and behavioral function of circuits defined by its projection-specific sub-populations have yet to be determined. The corticocortical connections between RSC and secondary motor cortex (M2), as well as corticothalamic connections between RSC and anterodorsal thalamus (AD) have been hypothesized to function as semi-independent, but parallel pathways that impact spatial information processing in distinct ways. We used retrograde and anterograde viral tracers and monosynaptic retrograde rabies virus to quantitatively characterize and compare the afferent and efferent distributions of retrosplenial neuron sub-populations projecting to M2 and AD. AD-projecting and M2-projecting RSC neurons overlap in their collateral projections to other brain regions, but not in their projections to M2 and AD, respectively. Compared with AD-projecting RSC neurons, M2-projecting RSC neurons received much greater afferent input from the dorsal subiculum, AD, lateral dorsal and lateral posterior thalamus, and somatosensory cortex. AD-projecting RSC neurons received greater input from the anterior cingulate cortex and medial septum. We performed chemogenetic inhibition of M2- and AD-projecting RSC neurons and examined its impact on object-location memory, object-recognition, open-field exploration, and place-action association. Our findings indicate that inhibition of M2-projecting RSC neurons impairs object location memory as well as place-action association, while the RSC to AD pathway impacts only object-location memory. The findings indicate that RSC is composed of semi-independent circuits distinguishable by their afferent/efferent distributions and differing in the cognitive functions to which they contribute.

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