Distinct Cortical-Thalamic-Striatal Circuits through the Parafascicular Nucleus (Neuron)

The PF of the intralaminar thalamus is implicated in human neuropsychiatric disease. Mandelbaum et al. deconstruct the mouse PF using transcription, electrophysiological, and whole-brain anatomical analyses. They reveal organization of the PF that bridges molecular, cellular, and circuit levels, forming cortical-PF-cortical and cortical-PF-striatum circuit motifs. These findings reveal PF as a critical node that organizes limbic, associative, and somatosensory information in the basal ganglia.