Transient relay function of midline thalamic nuclei during long-term memory consolidation in humans

Learn Mem. 2015 Sep 15;22(10):527-31. doi: 10.1101/lm.038372.115. Print 2015 Oct.

Abstract

To test the hypothesis that thalamic midline nuclei play a transient role in memory consolidation, we reanalyzed a prospective functional MRI study, contrasting recent and progressively more remote memory retrieval. We revealed a transient thalamic connectivity increase with the hippocampus, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and a parahippocampal area, which decreased with time. In turn, mPFC-parahippocampal connectivity increased progressively. These findings support a model in which thalamic midline nuclei serve as a hub linking hippocampus, mPFC, and posterior representational areas during memory retrieval at an early (2 h) stage of consolidation, extending classical systems consolidation models by attributing a transient role to midline thalamic nuclei.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Brain Mapping
  • Hippocampus / physiology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Memory Consolidation / physiology*
  • Memory, Long-Term / physiology*
  • Midline Thalamic Nuclei / physiology*
  • Neural Pathways / physiology
  • Prefrontal Cortex / physiology
  • Prospective Studies
  • Time Factors