New preprint alert
"Pathway-specific progression of Tau pathology in the human thalamus"
We discovered that large presynaptic terminals containing vGLUT2 preferentially accumulate paired helical filaments of #Tau in the anterodorsal nucleus of the #thalamus, even at the stage before #Alzheimer’s disease.
But we could not detect them in the small corticothalamic terminals, suggesting Tau is not spreading anterogradely from the #cortex.
We also detected pathological Tau in both presynaptic and postsynaptic sites, which suggests Tau crosses specific #synapses.
Adjacent thalamic nuclei such as the anteroventral and mediodorsal were relatively resistant to Tau #pathology.
We suggest there is a 'hidden' #subcortical route for the spread of Tau in the ageing human #brain.
Since the anterodorsal thalamic nucleus is so vulnerable, and contains high densities of #neurons that are sensitive to head direction and gravity, it may explain the very early deficits in spatial orientation in people that go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Please see our #preprint for further details: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.05.543738v1
