Prenatal thalamic waves regulate cortical area size prior to sensory processing

Verónica Moreno-Juan, Anton Filipchuk, Noelia Antón-Bolaños, Cecilia Mezzera, Henrik Gezelius, Belen Andrés, Luis Rodríguez-Malmierca, Rafael Susín, Olivier Schaad, Takuji Iwasato, Roland Schüle, Michael Rutlin, Sacha Nelson, Sebastien Ducret, Miguel Valdeolmillos, Filippo M. Rijli and Guillermina López-Bendito ()
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Verónica Moreno-Juan: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550
Anton Filipchuk: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550
Noelia Antón-Bolaños: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550
Cecilia Mezzera: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550
Henrik Gezelius: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550
Belen Andrés: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550
Luis Rodríguez-Malmierca: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550
Rafael Susín: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550
Olivier Schaad: NCCR frontiers in Genetics, University of Geneva
Takuji Iwasato: National Institute of Genetics (NIG)
Roland Schüle: Urologische Klinik und Zentrale Klinische Forschung, Klinikum der Universität Freiburg
Michael Rutlin: Brandeis University
Sacha Nelson: Brandeis University
Sebastien Ducret: Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research
Miguel Valdeolmillos: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550
Filippo M. Rijli: Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research
Guillermina López-Bendito: Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract The cerebral cortex is organized into specialized sensory areas, whose initial territory is determined by intracortical molecular determinants. Yet, sensory cortical area size appears to be fine tuned during development to respond to functional adaptations. Here we demonstrate the existence of a prenatal sub-cortical mechanism that regulates the cortical areas size in mice. This mechanism is mediated by spontaneous thalamic calcium waves that propagate among sensory-modality thalamic nuclei up to the cortex and that provide a means of communication among sensory systems. Wave pattern alterations in one nucleus lead to changes in the pattern of the remaining ones, triggering changes in thalamic gene expression and cortical area size. Thus, silencing calcium waves in the auditory thalamus induces Rorβ upregulation in a neighbouring somatosensory nucleus preluding the enlargement of the barrel-field. These findings reveal that embryonic thalamic calcium waves coordinate cortical sensory area patterning and plasticity prior to sensory information processing.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14172

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