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Szczupak D, Schaeffer DJ, Tian X, Choi SH, Fang-Cheng, Iack PM, Campos VP, Mayo JP, Patsch J, Mitter C, Haboosheh A, Kwon HS, Vieira MAC, Reich DS, Jacobson S, Kasprian G, Tovar-Moll F, Lent R, Silva AC. Direct interhemispheric cortical communication via thalamic commissures: a new white matter pathway in the primate brain. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad394. [PMID: 37950874 PMCID: PMC10793074 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Cortical neurons of eutherian mammals project to the contralateral hemisphere, crossing the midline primarily via the corpus callosum and the anterior, posterior, and hippocampal commissures. We recently reported and named the thalamic commissures (TCs) as an additional interhemispheric axonal fiber pathway connecting the cortex to the contralateral thalamus in the rodent brain. Here, we demonstrate that TCs also exist in primates and characterize the connectivity of these pathways with high-resolution diffusion-weighted MRI, viral axonal tracing, and fMRI. We present evidence of TCs in both New World (Callithrix jacchus and Cebus apella) and Old World primates (Macaca mulatta). Further, like rodents, we show that the TCs in primates develop during the embryonic period, forming anatomical and functionally active connections of the cortex with the contralateral thalamus. We also searched for TCs in the human brain, showing their presence in humans with brain malformations, although we could not identify TCs in healthy subjects. These results pose the TCs as a vital fiber pathway in the primate brain, allowing for more robust interhemispheric connectivity and synchrony and serving as an alternative commissural route in developmental brain malformations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Szczupak
- University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - David J Schaeffer
- University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Xiaoguang Tian
- University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Sang-Ho Choi
- University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Fang-Cheng
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Pamela Meneses Iack
- Biomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 373 Carlos Chagas Filho Avenue, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-853, Brazil
| | - Vinicius P Campos
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 400 Trabalhador São-Carlense Avenue, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP 13565-905, Brazil
| | - J Patrick Mayo
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh, 1622 Locust Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Janina Patsch
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy of the Medical University of Vienna, 18-20 Währinger Gürtel, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christian Mitter
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy of the Medical University of Vienna, 18-20 Währinger Gürtel, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Amit Haboosheh
- Department of Radiology Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital, Kalman Ya'akov Man St, Jerusalem 9112001, Israel
| | - Ha Seung Kwon
- University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Marcelo A C Vieira
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 400 Trabalhador São-Carlense Avenue, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP 13565-905, Brazil
| | - Daniel S Reich
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Steve Jacobson
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Gregor Kasprian
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy of the Medical University of Vienna, 18-20 Währinger Gürtel, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Fernanda Tovar-Moll
- D’Or Institute of Research and Education, 30 Rua Diniz Cordeiro Street, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22281-100, Brazil
| | - Roberto Lent
- Biomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 373 Carlos Chagas Filho Avenue, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-853, Brazil
- D’Or Institute of Research and Education, 30 Rua Diniz Cordeiro Street, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22281-100, Brazil
| | - Afonso C Silva
- University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
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Szczupak D, Iack PM, Liu C, Tovar-Moll F, Lent R, Silva AC. Direct Interhemispheric Cortical Communication via Thalamic Commissures: A New White-Matter Pathway in the Rodent Brain. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:4642-4651. [PMID: 33999140 PMCID: PMC8408456 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The corpus callosum (CC), the anterior (AC), and the posterior (PC) commissures are the principal axonal fiber bundle pathways that allow bidirectional communication between the brain hemispheres. Here, we used the Allen mouse brain connectivity atlas and high-resolution diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) to investigate interhemispheric fiber bundles in C57bl6/J mice, the most commonly used wild-type mouse model in biomedical research. We identified 1) commissural projections from the primary motor area through the AC to the contralateral hemisphere; and 2) intrathalamic interhemispheric fiber bundles from multiple regions in the frontal cortex to the contralateral thalamus. This is the first description of direct interhemispheric corticothalamic connectivity from the orbital cortex. We named these newly identified crossing points thalamic commissures. We also analyzed interhemispheric connectivity in the Balb/c mouse model of dysgenesis of the corpus callosum (CCD). Relative to C57bl6/J, Balb/c presented an atypical and smaller AC and weaker interhemispheric corticothalamic communication. These results redefine our understanding of interhemispheric brain communication. Specifically, they establish the thalamus as a regular hub for interhemispheric connectivity and encourage us to reinterpret brain plasticity in CCD as an altered balance between axonal reinforcement and pruning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Szczupak
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
- Cerebral Microcirculation Section, Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Pamela Meneses Iack
- Biomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil
| | - Cirong Liu
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
- Cerebral Microcirculation Section, Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Institute of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - IRC5 Consortium
- Researchers of the International Research Consortium for the Corpus Callosum and Cerebral Connectivity (IRC5), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | | | - Roberto Lent
- Biomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil
- D’Or Institute of Research and Education, Rio de Janeiro 22281-100, Brazil
| | - Afonso C Silva
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
- Cerebral Microcirculation Section, Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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