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Mediodorsal Thalamus Contributes to the Timing of Instrumental Actions.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Lusk, N; Meck, WH; Yin, HH
Published in: The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
August 2020

The perception of time is critical to adaptive behavior. While prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia have been implicated in interval timing in the seconds to minutes range, little is known about the role of the mediodorsal thalamus (MD), which is a key component of the limbic cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical loop. In this study, we tested the role of the MD in timing, using an operant temporal production task in male mice. In this task, that the expected timing of available rewards is indicated by lever pressing. Inactivation of the MD with muscimol produced rightward shifts in peak pressing on probe trials as well as increases in peak spread, thus significantly altering both temporal accuracy and precision. Optogenetic inhibition of glutamatergic projection neurons in the MD also resulted in similar changes in timing. The observed effects were found to be independent of significant changes in movement. Our findings suggest that the MD is a critical component of the neural circuit for interval timing, without playing a direct role in regulating ongoing performance.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The mediodorsal nucleus (MD) of the thalamus is strongly connected with the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia, areas which have been implicated in interval timing. Previous work has shown that the MD contributes to working memory and learning of action-outcome contingencies, but its role in behavioral timing is poorly understood. Using an operant temporal production task, we showed that inactivation of the MD significantly impaired timing behavior.

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Published In

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience

DOI

EISSN

1529-2401

ISSN

0270-6474

Publication Date

August 2020

Volume

40

Issue

33

Start / End Page

6379 / 6388

Related Subject Headings

  • Time Perception
  • Reward
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Optogenetics
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Muscimol
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mediodorsal Thalamic Nucleus
  • Male
  • GABA-A Receptor Agonists
 

Citation

APA
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ICMJE
MLA
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Lusk, N., Meck, W. H., & Yin, H. H. (2020). Mediodorsal Thalamus Contributes to the Timing of Instrumental Actions. The Journal of Neuroscience : The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 40(33), 6379–6388. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0695-20.2020
Lusk, Nicholas, Warren H. Meck, and Henry H. Yin. “Mediodorsal Thalamus Contributes to the Timing of Instrumental Actions.The Journal of Neuroscience : The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience 40, no. 33 (August 2020): 6379–88. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0695-20.2020.
Lusk N, Meck WH, Yin HH. Mediodorsal Thalamus Contributes to the Timing of Instrumental Actions. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 2020 Aug;40(33):6379–88.
Lusk, Nicholas, et al. “Mediodorsal Thalamus Contributes to the Timing of Instrumental Actions.The Journal of Neuroscience : The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience, vol. 40, no. 33, Aug. 2020, pp. 6379–88. Epmc, doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0695-20.2020.
Lusk N, Meck WH, Yin HH. Mediodorsal Thalamus Contributes to the Timing of Instrumental Actions. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 2020 Aug;40(33):6379–6388.

Published In

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience

DOI

EISSN

1529-2401

ISSN

0270-6474

Publication Date

August 2020

Volume

40

Issue

33

Start / End Page

6379 / 6388

Related Subject Headings

  • Time Perception
  • Reward
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Optogenetics
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Muscimol
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mediodorsal Thalamic Nucleus
  • Male
  • GABA-A Receptor Agonists