Somatotopic Organization of the Ventroposterior Nucleus of the Thalamus in Macaque Monkeys with Dorsal Spinal Cord Injuries Sustained During Early Postnatal Development
- 1Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur
Abstract
Injuries to peripheral nerves or the spinal cord lead to changes in the topographic organization in the brain at multiple levels along the sensory pathways. In adult monkeys large-scale deafferentations due to transection of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord at cervical levels result in large-scale reorganizations such that the deafferented neurons in the hand representation of somatosensory cortical area 3b start responding to anatomically distant body parts such as the chin. However, reorganization following dorsal column injuries depends upon the age at the time of the injury. The somatotopy of areas 3b, 1 and 2 in macaque monkeys with injuries sustained on or before postnatal day (PND) 5 is very normal-like. Whereas in monkeys with injuries sustained between PND9 and PND12, a large extent of the deafferented somatosensory cortex remains unresponsive to peripheral touch, with neurons at only a few sites responding to touch on the face or arm. Here we determined the organization of the ventroposterior nucleus (VPN) of the thalamus in four of these monkeys (Macaca radiata, 3 females, 1 male) that received lesions of the dorsal columns on PND 3, 5 and 9. We show that the nature of reorganization of VPN largely resembles that of the somatosensory cortex. Somatotopy is normal-like after lesions on PND3 and 5, whereas after lesion on PND9, the deprived neurons are largely unresponsive to peripheral touch, with a limited expansion of the chin representation.
Related
- Spatio‐Temporal Dynamics of Macroglial Cell Organization and Proximity to Blood Vessels During Postnatal Development
- Topographic and somatotopic organization of functional connectivity between the intraparietal sulcus and primary somatosensory cortex in macaque monkeys
- Physiological Postnatal Neurogenesis, Development, and Maturation in the Regenerable Retina
- Proteomic profiling across early postnatal development of midbrain dopamine axons innervating the dorsal striatum
- Integrated lncRNA and mRNA Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Candidate Regulatory Networks Associated with Postnatal Longissimus Dorsi Muscle Development in Hanper Sheep.
BibTeX
@misc{jain2026somatotopic,
title = {{Somatotopic Organization of the Ventroposterior Nucleus of the Thalamus in Macaque Monkeys with Dorsal Spinal Cord Injuries Sustained During Early Postnatal Development}},
author = {N. Jain and H. Qi and A. Raman and D. C. Lyon and J. H. Kaas},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.21.759785},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.21.759785v1},
note = {CC BY-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Somatotopic Organization of the Ventroposterior Nucleus of the Thalamus in Macaque Monkeys with Dorsal Spinal Cord Injuries Sustained During Early Postnatal Development
AU - N. Jain
AU - H. Qi
AU - A. Raman
AU - D. C. Lyon
AU - J. H. Kaas
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.21.759785
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.21.759785v1
AB - Injuries to peripheral nerves or the spinal cord lead to changes in the topographic organization in the brain at multiple levels along the sensory pathways. In adult monkeys large-scale deafferentations due to transection of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord at cervical levels result in large-scale reorganizations such that the deafferented neurons in the hand representation of somatosensory cortical area 3b start responding to anatomically distant body parts such as the chin. However, reorganization following dorsal column injuries depends upon the age at the time of the injury. The somatotopy of areas 3b, 1 and 2 in macaque monkeys with injuries sustained on or before postnatal day (PND) 5 is very normal-like. Whereas in monkeys with injuries sustained between PND9 and PND12, a large extent of the deafferented somatosensory cortex remains unresponsive to peripheral touch, with neurons at only a few sites responding to touch on the face or arm. Here we determined the organization of the ventroposterior nucleus (VPN) of the thalamus in four of these monkeys (Macaca radiata, 3 females, 1 male) that received lesions of the dorsal columns on PND 3, 5 and 9. We show that the nature of reorganization of VPN largely resembles that of the somatosensory cortex. Somatotopy is normal-like after lesions on PND3 and 5, whereas after lesion on PND9, the deprived neurons are largely unresponsive to peripheral touch, with a limited expansion of the chin representation.
ER -