Yonsei Med J.  2014 May;55(3):709-714. 10.3349/ymj.2014.55.3.709.

Thalamocortical Connections between the Mediodorsal Nucleus of the Thalamus and Prefrontal Cortex in the Human Brain: A Diffusion Tensor Tractographic Study

• Jang SH
• Yeo SS

• KMID: 2068681
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2014.55.3.709

Abstract

PURPOSE
The elucidation of thalamocortical connections between the mediodorsal nucleus (MD) of thalamus and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is important in the clinical fields of neurorehabilitation and psychiatry. However, little is known about these connections in human brain. We attempted to identify and investigate the anatomical characteristics of the thalamocortical connection between MD and PFC in human brain using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty-two healthy volunteers were recruited for this study. Diffusion tensor images were scanned using a 1.5-T. A seed region of interest was placed at the MD of the thalamus on coronal images, and target regions of interest were placed on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), respectively. The three thalamocortical connections found were reconstructed using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) software.
RESULTS
The three thalamocortical connections were arranged in subcortical white matter in the following order from upper to lower levels: the DLPFC, the VLPFC, and the OFC. In terms of fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity values, no significant differences were observed between the DLPFC, VLPFC and OFC (p>0.05). In contrast, the OFC tract volume was higher than those of the DLPFC and the VLPFC (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION
Three thalamocortical connections were reconstructed between MD and PFCs in human brain using DTT. We believe that the results of this study would be helpful to clinicians in treating frontal network syndrome and psychiatric diseases.

Keyword

Prefrontal cortex; mediodorsal nucleus; thalamus; diffusion tensor imaging

MeSH Terms

Adult
Brain/*anatomy & histology
Diffusion Tensor Imaging/*methods
Female
Healthy Volunteers
Humans
Male
Mediodorsal Thalamic Nucleus/*anatomy & histology
Middle Aged
Prefrontal Cortex/*anatomy & histology
Thalamus/*anatomy & histology
Young Adult

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 (A) Seed regions of interest (ROI) were placed on the mediodorsal nucleus (MD) of the thalamus (yellow color). Target ROIs were placed on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, red), the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC, blue), and orbitoprefrontal cortex (OFC, green), respectively. (B) The neural pathways of thalamocortical connections between thalamic MD and three prefrontal cortexes are shown at each brain level in a normal subject (a 50-year-old female).

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