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Review
. 2015 Jul:54:29-37.
doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.03.008. Epub 2015 Apr 9.

Thalamic structures and associated cognitive functions: Relations with age and aging

Rosemary Fama  1 , Edith V Sullivan  2
Affiliations
Review

Thalamic structures and associated cognitive functions: Relations with age and aging

Rosemary Fama et al. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2015 Jul.

Abstract

The thalamus, with its cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar connections, is a critical node in networks supporting cognitive functions known to decline in normal aging, including component processes of memory and executive functions of attention and information processing. The macrostructure, microstructure, and neural connectivity of the thalamus changes across the adult lifespan. Structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have demonstrated, regional thalamic volume shrinkage and microstructural degradation, with anterior regions generally more compromised than posterior regions. The integrity of selective thalamic nuclei and projections decline with advancing age, particularly those in thalamofrontal, thalamoparietal, and thalamolimbic networks. This review presents studies that assess the relations between age and aging and the structure, function, and connectivity of the thalamus and associated neural networks and focuses on their relations with processes of attention, speed of information processing, and working and episodic memory.

Keywords: Aging; Attention; Connectivity; DTI; Executive functions; MRI; Memory; Thalamocortical; Thalamus.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Modified from Pergola et al. (2012) Neuropsychologia Vol. 50: 2477–2491, Figure 1. Thalamo-cortical connectivity. Spatial arrangements of the anterior thalamus (AT), medial thalamus (MT), parvocellular mediodorsal nucleus (MDpc), and lateral thalamus (LT). The section is 6.3 mm superior to the intercommissural plane. Modified from Morel (2007). AM-anteromedial nucleus; AV-anteroventral nucleus; CeM-centromedial nucleus; CL-centrolateral nucleus; MDmc-magnocellular mediodorsal nucleus; MDpl-paralamellar mediodorsal nucleus; mtt-mammillothalamic tract; Pv-paraventricular nucleus (B) Modified from Carlesimo et al. (2011) Neuropsychologia Vol 49: 777–789, Figure 1. A diagram showing principal thalamic nuclei connections to other relevant structures in declarative, including episodic, memory functioning. EC-entorhinal cortex; MBs-mammillary bodies; MD-mediodorsal nucleus; MTT-mammillothalamic tract; PFC-prefrontal cortex; PHC-perihippocampal cortex; PRC-perirhinal cortex; VAFP-ventral amygdalofugal pathway. (C) Taken from Grieve et al. (2000) Trends in Neurosciences Vol 23: 35–39, Figure 1. The major cortical and subcortical inputs to the inferior, lateral, and medial pulvinar nuclei. ‘Lower” vision and near-striate visual cortices are in red, while ‘higher’ cortices, visual association such as parietal and prefrontal and non-sensory association cortices including frontal and cingulated are in purple. P inf-inferior pulvinar; P lat-lateral pulvinar; P med-medial pulvinar; P oral-oral pulvinar; SC-superior colliculus.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Modified from Pfefferbaum et al. (2013) NeuroImage Vol. 65: 176–193, Figures 1 and 4. Top figure: Parcellated segmentation of the thalamus (depicted in light and dark pink) from the SRI24 atlas (http://nitc.org/projects/sri24). Scatterplot: Volume of the thalamus, expressed as standardized residuals (Z-score) or standard deviations (SD), after correction for supratentorial volume of regional brain structures of the adult plus adolescent samples, with boys and men (blue) and girls and women (red) and best-fit functions over age for each sex. The black fit is the combined group irrespective of sex.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Modified from Tourdias et al. (2014) NeuroImage Vol. 84: 534–545 Figure 7 and Saranathan et al. (2014) Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (2014) in press, Figure 8. White-matter-nulled MRI images in Coronal (top) and Axial (bottom) orientations from two different subjects. Zoomed insets (yellow rectangle) of the thalamic region show the different nuclei, visualized due to improved contrast between adjacent substructures. The nuclei can then be segmented and labeled. Corresponding histological plates (Morel et al., 1997) are also shown for comparison highlighting the excellent correspondence between MR segmentation and the atlas. Cd-caudate nucleus ; CeM-central medial nucleus; CM-center median nucleus ; IC-internal capsule; LGN-lateral geniculate nucleus ; LP-lateral posterior nucleus ; MD-mediodorsal nucleus; MTT-mammillothalamic tracts; PuA-anterior pulvinar ; PuM-medial pulvinar; PuL-lateral pulvinar; RN-red nucleus; VA-ventral anterior nucleus; VLA-ventral lateral anterior nucleus; VLP-ventral lateral posterior nucleus; VPL-ventral posterior lateral nucleus ;
Figure 4
Figure 4
From Zhang et al. (2010) Cerebral Cortex. Vol. 20 Issue 5: 1187–1194, Figure 1. Structural and functional connectivity between cerebral cortex and thalamus. (A) The cortex is partitioned on the basis of major anatomical landmarks into 5 nonoverlapping regions using surface-based ROI definition from CARET (Van Essen 2005; Van Essen et al. 2001). (B) Each cortical area demonstrated specific correlations in its intrinsic neuronal activity with distinct areas of the thalamus. (C) Probabilistic tractography likewise demonstrated specificity of tracking white matter fiber tracks between the thalamus and each cortical area, similar to Behrens et al. (2003). (D) Structural and functional mapping results demonstrated considerable overlap in their connectivity profiles (purple).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Modified from Hughes et al (2012) NeuroImage Vol. 63: 1134–1142, Figures 2–3. (A) Linear regression plots for normalized volume (voxels) in the left and right thalamo-frontal, thalamo-parietal, thalamo-temporal, and thalamo-occipital projections with age. A regression line is shown for those regions where a significant robust linear regression with age was found (Bonferroni correction; p<0.05/22). (B) Linear regression plots for mean MD (mm2/s) of the left and right thalamo-frontal, thalamo-parietal, thalamo-temporal, and thalamo-occipital projections with age. A regression line is shown for those regions where a significant robust linear regression with age was found (Bonferroni correction; p<0.05/22).
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