Brain, Vol. 123, No. 3, 601-619,
March 2000
© 2000 Oxford University Press
Cytoarchitectonic and immunohistochemical characterization of a specific pain and temperature relay, the posterior portion of the ventral medial nucleus, in the human thalamus
1 Division of Cell Biology, Department of Biomedicine and Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Linköping, Sweden and 2 Division of Neurosurgery, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, USA
Correspondence to:
A. Blomqvist, Division of Cell Biology, Department of Biomedicine and Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Linköping, S-581 85 Linköping, Sweden E-mail: andbl{at}mcb.liu.se
Previous studies in the macaque monkey have identified a thalamic nucleus, the posterior portion of the ventral medial nucleus (VMpo), as a dedicated lamina I spinothalamocortical relay for pain and temperature sensation. The dense plexus of calbindin-immunoreactive fibres that characterizes VMpo in primates enables its homologue to be identified in the human thalamus by immunohistochemical labelling for calbindin. We have now analysed in detail the cytoarchitectonic characteristics of VMpo and its relationship with immunoreactivity for calbindin, substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the human thalamus. The area in the posterolateral thalamus in which dense calbindin-immunoreactive fibre terminations are present coincides nearly completely with a distinct region that contains small to medium-sized cells with round or oval shapes that are aggregated in clusters separated by cell sparse areas. This region, which we identify as VMpo, is located posteromedial to the ventral posterior lateral (VPL) and ventral posterior medial (VPM) nuclei, ventral to the anterior pulvinar and centre médian nuclei, lateral to the limitans and parafascicular nuclei and dorsal to the medial geniculate nucleus. Calbindin-immunoreactive fibres enter VMpo from the spinal lemniscus and form large patches of dense terminal-like staining over clusters of VMpo neurons. A few of these clusters also display terminal-like substance P labelling. Small bursts of CGRP staining are intercalated between the calbindin-labelled clusters, but there is little or no overlap between these two markers. CGRP immunoreactivity is also present over small, non-clustered neurons in the calbindin-negative area that separates VMpo from the VPL and VPM nuclei, which we denote as the posterior nucleus (Po). These observations provide a concise description of VMpo in the human thalamus. Further, they suggest that the lamina I spinothalamic tract fibres (represented by calbindin and probably also substance P immunoreactivity) and vagal-solitary-parabrachial afferents (represented by CGRP immunoreactivity) form closely related, but separate, termination fields that can be considered to represent different aspects of enteroceptive information regarding the physiological status of the tissues and organs of the body. The location of VMpo and the adjacent Po fits with clinical descriptions of the thalamic area from which pain, temperature and visceral sensations can be evoked by microstimulation, and where nociceptive and thermoreceptive neurons have been recorded in humans. It also corresponds to the area in which infarcts cause analgesia and thermoanaesthesia and can lead to the paradoxical development of central pain.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Davidson, X. Zhang, S. G. Khasabov, D. A. Simone, and G. J. Giesler Jr. Termination Zones of Functionally Characterized Spinothalamic Tract Neurons Within the Primate Posterior Thalamus J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2008; 100(4): 2026 - 2037. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Herzog, P. H. Weiss, A. Assmus, B. Wefer, C. Seif, P. M. Braun, M. O. Pinsker, H. Herzog, J. Volkmann, G. Deuschl, et al. Improved sensory gating of urinary bladder afferents in Parkinson's disease following subthalamic stimulation Brain, January 1, 2008; 131(1): 132 - 145. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. H. Kim, J. D. Greenspan, R. C. Coghill, S. Ohara, and F. A. Lenz Lesions Limited to the Human Thalamic Principal Somatosensory Nucleus (Ventral Caudal) Are Associated with Loss of Cold Sensations and Central Pain J. Neurosci., May 2, 2007; 27(18): 4995 - 5004. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
X. Zhang, S. Davidson, and G. J. Giesler Jr Thermally identified subgroups of marginal zone neurons project to distinct regions of the ventral posterior lateral nucleus in rats. J. Neurosci., May 10, 2006; 26(19): 5215 - 5223. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. A. Bagley, S. Ohara, H. C. Lawson, and F. A. Lenz Psychophysics of CNS Pain-Related Activity: Binary and Analog Channels and Memory Encoding Neuroscientist, February 1, 2006; 12(1): 29 - 42. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J.-I. Lee, S. Ohara, P. M. Dougherty, and F. A. Lenz Pain and Temperature Encoding in the Human Thalamic Somatic Sensory Nucleus (Ventral caudal): Inhibition-Related Bursting Evoked by Somatic Stimuli J Neurophysiol, September 1, 2005; 94(3): 1676 - 1687. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. D. Iannetti and J.C.W. Brooks On the interpretation of temporal differences of BOLD fMRI responses to nociceptive stimulation J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2005; 93(6): 3718 - 3719. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Peyron, F. Schneider, I. Faillenot, P. Convers, F.-G. Barral, L. Garcia-Larrea, and B. Laurent An fMRI study of cortical representation of mechanical allodynia in patients with neuropathic pain Neurology, November 23, 2004; 63(10): 1838 - 1846. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. A. Lenz, S. Ohara, R. H. Gracely, P. M. Dougherty, and S. H. Patel Pain Encoding in the Human Forebrain: Binary and Analog Exteroceptive Channels J. Neurosci., July 21, 2004; 24(29): 6540 - 6544. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Graziano and E. G. Jones Widespread Thalamic Terminations of Fibers Arising in the Superficial Medullary Dorsal Horn of Monkeys and Their Relation to Calbindin Immunoreactivity J. Neurosci., January 7, 2004; 24(1): 248 - 256. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Ohara and F. A. Lenz Medial Lateral Extent of Thermal and Pain Sensations Evoked By Microstimulation in Somatic Sensory Nuclei of Human Thalamus J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2003; 90(4): 2367 - 2377. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. E.T. de Araujo, M. L. Kringelbach, E. T. Rolls, and F. McGlone Human Cortical Responses to Water in the Mouth, and the Effects of Thirst J Neurophysiol, September 1, 2003; 90(3): 1865 - 1876. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Vogel, J. D. Port, F. A. Lenz, M. Solaiyappan, G. Krauss, and R.-D. Treede Dipole Source Analysis of Laser-Evoked Subdural Potentials Recorded From Parasylvian Cortex in Humans J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2003; 89(6): 3051 - 3060. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Wessberg, H. Olausson, K. W. Fernstrom, and A. B. Vallbo Receptive Field Properties of Unmyelinated Tactile Afferents in the Human Skin J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2003; 89(3): 1567 - 1575. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G.D. Iannetti, A. Truini, A. Romaniello, F. Galeotti, C. Rizzo, M. Manfredi, and G. Cruccu Evidence of a Specific Spinal Pathway for the Sense of Warmth in Humans J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2003; 89(1): 562 - 570. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. F. M. DaSilva, L. Becerra, N. Makris, A. M. Strassman, R. G. Gonzalez, N. Geatrakis, and D. Borsook Somatotopic Activation in the Human Trigeminal Pain Pathway J. Neurosci., September 15, 2002; 22(18): 8183 - 8192. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Ostrowsky, M. Magnin, P. Ryvlin, J. Isnard, M. Guenot, and F. Mauguiere Representation of Pain and Somatic Sensation in the Human Insula: a Study of Responses to Direct Electrical Cortical Stimulation Cereb Cortex, April 1, 2002; 12(4): 376 - 385. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. D. Craig and J. O. Dostrovsky Differential Projections of Thermoreceptive and Nociceptive Lamina I Trigeminothalamic and Spinothalamic Neurons in the Cat J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2001; 86(2): 856 - 870. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|