The replication principle revisited: a shared functional organization between pulvinar-cortical and cortico-cortical connectivity and its structural and molecular imaging correlates

• DOI: 10.7554/elife.100937.1
• Publication Date: 2024-10-02T15:22:43Z
• Authors: Gianpaolo Antonio...; Augusto Ielo; Lilla Bonanno; Antonio Cerasa; Giuseppe Santoro; Demetrio Milardi; Giuseppe Pio Anas...; Ambra Torre; Sergio Baldari; Riccardo Laudicella; Michele Gaeta; Marina Quartu; Maria Pina Serra; Marcello Trucas; Angelo Quartarone; Manojkumar Sarana...; Alberto Cacciola
• Keywords: Replication

The pulvinar, the largest nucleus in human thalamus, is a complex, highly interconnected structure. Through dense, organized network of cortical and subcortical areas, it provides adequate cooperation between neural systems, which crucial for multiple high-order functions such as perception, visuospatial attention, emotional processing. Such central role made possible by precise internal topographical organization, mirrored anatomical connections well expression neurochemical markers. While being traditionally subdivided into sub-nuclei, each characterized distinct connectional morphological features, recent studies both primate brains have highlighted that this organization only marginally aligns with conventional histological subdivision. Instead, has been delineated context continuous gradients along dorsoventral mediolateral axes. multi-gradient extensively documented models, remains relatively underexplored brain. present work combines high-quality, multi-modal structural functional imaging data recently published whole-brain, large-scale, positron emission tomography (PET) atlas detailing 19 neurotransmitters receptors distributed across By applying diffusion embedding analysis to tractography, connectivity, receptor coexpression data, we identify characterize topographically connections, coactivation, molecular binding patterns. We demonstrate converge on shared representation axes pulvinar. This transitions spanning from lower-level higher-order regions. Moreover, paralleled gradual changes markers associated key neuromodulator including serotoninergic, noradrenergic, dopaminergic, opioid systems. contend our findings mark significant stride towards more comprehensive understanding pulvinar anatomy function, providing nuanced characterization its health disease.