The neocortex controls its own sensory input in part through top-down inhibitory mechanisms. Descending corticothalamic projections drive GABAergic neurons of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), which govern thalamocortical cell activity via inhibition. Neurons in sensory TRN are organized into primary and higher order (HO) subpopulations, with separate intrathalamic connections and distinct genetic and functional properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground Radiographic severity may help predict patient deterioration and outcomes from COVID-19 pneumonia. Purpose To assess the reliability and reproducibility of three chest radiograph reporting systems (radiographic assessment of lung edema [RALE], Brixia, and percentage opacification) in patients with proven SARS-CoV-2 infection and examine the ability of these scores to predict adverse outcomes both alone and in conjunction with two clinical scoring systems, National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) and International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium: Coronavirus Clinical Characterization Consortium (ISARIC-4C) mortality. Materials and Methods This retrospective cohort study used routinely collected clinical data of patients with polymerase chain reaction-positive SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to a single center from February 2020 through July 2020.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFMost sensory information destined for the neocortex is relayed through the thalamus, where considerable transformation occurs. One means of transformation involves interactions between excitatory thalamocortical neurons that carry data to the cortex and inhibitory neurons of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) that regulate the flow of those data. Although the importance of the TRN has long been recognised, understanding of its cell types, their organization and their functional properties has lagged behind that of the thalamocortical systems they control.
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