Reduced mediodorsal thalamus activity underlies aberrant belief dynamics in a genetic mouse model of schizophrenia - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #mediodorsal thalamus
- #Grin2a mutation
- #schizophrenia
- Reduced activity in the mediodorsal thalamus is linked to abnormal belief dynamics in a genetic mouse model of schizophrenia.
- Mice with a schizophrenia-associated mutation in Grin2a (Grin2aY700X+/-) showed less optimal performance in a foraging task compared to wild-type mice.
- The study found that Grin2aY700X+/- mice had unstable cognitive states due to noisy representations of dynamic task values.
- Mediodorsal (MD) thalamus neurons were identified as encoding dynamic task values and cognitive states in wild-type mice.
- Optogenetic inhibition of MD neurons in wild-type mice mimicked the behavior of Grin2aY700X+/- mice, while enhancing MD activity improved task performance in mutant mice.
- The findings suggest the MD thalamus as a critical area for schizophrenia-related cognitive dysfunction and a potential therapeutic target.