Thalamic mediodorsal nucleus and working memory

Abstract

Working memory is a dynamic neural system for temporarily maintaining and processing information. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in working memory. However, several evidences indicate that the thalamic mediodorsal nucleus (MD) also participates in working memory. Neurophysiological studies revealed that MD neurons exhibit sustained delay activity, which is considered to be a neural correlate of the temporary maintenance of information. Most MD neurons with delay activity represented information regarding motor responses, whereas some represented information regarding visual cues, suggesting that the MD participates more in prospective aspects of working memory, in contrast to the PFC, in which a minority participates in prospective aspects of working memory. A population vector analysis revealed that the transformation of sensory-to-motor information occurred during the earlier phase of the delay period in the MD compared with the PFC. These results indicate that reverberating neural circuits constructed by reciprocal connections between the MD and the PFC could be an important component for constructing prospective information in the PFC.