You are here : Version anglaise > Training > Student club

The special role of the claustrum in monkey's interareal cortical communication 

On The January 26, 2015

Ana Rita Ribeiro Gomes

Team Director - Henry Kennedy

Abstract :

Although it is well known that cortical areas establish extensive connections with numerous subcortical structures, the potential role of these connections in promoting interareal cortical communication has been largely disregarded, even though some authors suggest that they play an important role in information exchange between cortical areas (Guillery and Sherman 2002; Saalmann, Pinsk et al. 2012). By carrying out 5 paired injections with two highly distinctive retrograde tracers (DY and FsB) in the macaque monkey, we have (1) determined the range of subcortical structures projecting to each injected area and quantified the projections of each; and (2) identified which subcortical structures may participate in the formation of cortical-subcortical-cortical loops (CSCLs). CSCLs exist when the afferents to a cortical area X are located in close proximity to the afferents to cortical area Y in a given subcortical structure. Because their formation is expected to be influenced by the distance separating each areas X and Y (Shipp et al., 2003), we have examined CSCLs with respect to two pairs of widely separated areas (7m-10; TEpd-8B) and three pairs of nearby separated areas (V1c-V4c; V4p-V4pc; F2-F7). In this first Cortex Student Club I will present you the results we have obtained so far, in particular the special role of the claustrum in promoting interareal cortical communication. Our observations will doubtlessly contribute to the present day speculation on claustrum function (Crick and Koch 2005).