The wave of impulses from around the thalamus's intralaminar nucleus polls all the sensory regions mapped out across the cerebral cortex once every 12.5-thousandth of a second.
12.
Llinas'theory rests on his measurements of various electrical rhythms in the brain, as well as observations such as that when the intralaminar nucleus is damaged, people fall into a deep coma.
13.
Llinas's theory rests on his measurements of various electrical rhythms in the brain, as well as observations such as that when the intralaminar nucleus is damaged, people fall into a deep coma.
14.
By contrast, calbindin and calretinin immunoreactivity show a similar distribution of dense staining in the rostral intralaminar nuclear group and in the patchy regions of the MD thalamus which appears to complement the pattern of parvalbumin staining.
15.
Intralaminar cells fire in a natural pattern of 40 cycles per second, Llinas said, and he believes it is their firing rhythm that is the source of the rhythmicity he detects at the surface of the cortex.
16.
His idea is that in each cycle a wave of nervous impulses radiates out from around the intralaminar nucleus to all parts of the cortex above, much like the central arm of an old-fashioned radar screen illuminates each object in its path.
17.
C = Cervical segment, S = Sacral segment, VPL = Ventral posterolateral nucleus, SI = Primary somatosensory cortex, VM = Ventromedial prefrontal cortex, MD = Medial dorsal thalamic nucleus, IL = Intralaminar nucleus, VPM = Ventral posteromedial nucleus, Main V = Main trigeminal nucleus, Spinal V = Spinal trigeminal nucleus
18.
The thalamic intralaminar nuclei project diffusely to entire cerebral cortex where pain reaches conscious level and promotes behavioral arousal . It is believed that spinoreticular tract projects to neurons having a large receptive fields that may cover wide areas of the body and play a role in the memory and in the affective ( emotional ) component of pain.
