A new atlas of the thalamus nuclei to better understand the brain

A new atlas of the thalamus nuclei to better understand the brain https://i0.wp.com/www.eresviral.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Un-nuevo-atlas-de-los-núcleos-del-tálamo-para-conocer-mejor-el-cerebro.jpg?fit=257%2C146&ssl=1

A new atlas of the thalamus nuclei to better understand the brain







The thalamus is one of the most important structures in the human brain. Their nuclei distribute the information of the motor apparatus and of all the senses of the human being, with the exception of smell.



In addition, they are involved in many functions such as attention, awareness and perception. Its importance is such that, if injured, the individual can go into a coma.



Until now, when the activity of the thalamus was recorded, the experts could only review it in its entirety, without adequately discriminating between its nuclei, which are highly specific in their function and connections with the cerebral cortex.



Not being able to observe the activity of the thalamus according to its specific nuclei, the researchers were not able to examine their possible participation in any disease or in the behavior of healthy participants.



Now, a multidisciplinary study involving scientists from the Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (BCBL) (Spain), University College London and the University of Castilla La Mancha shows the first thalamic atlas of probabilistic character capable of assessing a valid and reliable way its different cores and specific functions.







Thalamic nuclei are involved in many functions such as attention, consciousness and perception. (Photo: BCBL)



This new atlas is able to identify the different thalamic nuclei with neuroimaging data and in the future it can be used for different pathologies in which it is strongly involved. The results are published in Neuroimage.



Its probabilistic nature makes it the first tool of this type that can be adapted in a more optimal way to the size and characteristics of the thalamus of any person.



"With it, it will be possible to advance in the clinical study of disorders such as dyslexia and diseases such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, huntington and Alzheimer's, among others," explains Sinc Kepa Paz-Alonso, BCBL researcher.



In a first phase the scientists took six human brains and subjected them to high resolution magnetic resonance tests. Next, the 12 thalasts (two per brain) were laminated to observe the types of neurons and to delimit the 26 thalamic nuclei in which the atlas is divided.



Once the atlas was created, the validation tests began. Among others, the researchers examined a sample composed of 213 people with Alzheimer's and 161 healthy others. The probabilistic atlas allowed to discriminate between people who suffered the disease and healthy with an accuracy of 88%.



"The new atlas works well. It corresponds adequately with previous classifications of thalamic nuclei, is precise in time, adapts to multiple resonance images and is able to classify in an appropriate way between patients with and without Alzheimer's, "says Juan Eugenio Iglesias, researcher at University College London



On dyslexia, Kepa Paz-Alonso says that "thanks to this tool we will examine in a more precise and reliable way which thalamic nuclei are involved and how they connect functionally and structurally with different areas of the reading circuit, as well as with areas visual, auditory and attentional implants involved in this disorder. "



"A good part of the studies on dyslexia show thalamic involvement; Now let's see more specifically which kernels are related. It will no longer be the thalamus as a whole but specific nuclei, visual, auditory, and this same is applicable to any function in which this and its connections are involved, "he concludes. (Source: BCBL)

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