Single neurons in the thalamus and subthalamic nucleus process cardiac and respiratory signals in humans

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: De Falco, Emanuela; Solca, Marco; Bernasconi, Fosco; Babo-Rebelo, Mariana; Young, Nicole; Sammartino, Francesco; Tallon-Baudry, Catherine; Navarro, Vincent; Rezai, Ali R.; Krishna, Vibhor; Blanke, Olaf
• 署名单位: Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne; Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+); Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne; West Virginia University; University of Geneva; University System of Ohio; Ohio State University; Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (Inserm); Universite PSL; Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS); Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (Inserm); Assistance Publique Hopitaux Paris (APHP); Hopital Universitaire Pitie-Salpetriere - APHP; Sorbonne Universite; West Virginia University; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; University of Geneva
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-9824
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316365121
• 发表日期: 2024-03-12
• 关键词: deep brain-stimulation; heartbeat evoked-potentials; afferent connections; neural responses; volitional control; urinary-bladder; basal ganglia; in-vivo; modulation; cortex

摘要

Visceral signals are constantly processed by our central nervous system, enable homeostatic regulation, and influence perception, emotion, and cognition. While visceral processes at the cortical level have been extensively studied using non- invasive imaging techniques, very few studies have investigated how this information is processed at the single neuron level, both in humans and animals. Subcortical regions, relaying signals from peripheral interoceptors to cortical structures, are particularly understudied and how visceral information is processed in thalamic and subthalamic structures remains largely unknown. Here, we took advantage of intraoperative microelectrode recordings in patients undergoing surgery for deep brain stimulation (DBS) to investigate the activity of single neurons related to cardiac and respiratory functions in three subcortical regions: ventral intermedius nucleus (Vim) and ventral caudalis nucleus (Vc) of the thalamus, and subthalamic nucleus (STN). We report that the activity of a large portion of the recorded neurons (about 70%) was modulated by either the heartbeat, the cardiac interbeat interval, or the respiration. These cardiac and respiratory response patterns varied largely across neurons both in terms of timing and their kind of modulation. A substantial proportion of these visceral neurons (30%) was responsive to more than one of the tested signals, underlining specialization and integration of cardiac and respiratory signals in STN and thalamic neurons. By extensively describing single unit activity related to cardiorespiratory function in thalamic and subthalamic neurons, our results highlight the major role of these subcortical regions in the processing of visceral signals.