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Thalamic amplification of cortical connectivity sustains attentional control
Open accessAbstract
Although interactions between the thalamus and cortex are critical for cognitive function, the exact contribution of the thalamus to these interactions remains unclear. Recent studies have shown diverse connectivity patterns across the thalamus, but whether this diversity translates to thalamic functions beyond relaying information to or between cortical regions is unknown. Here we show, by investigating the representation of two rules used to guide attention in the mouse prefrontal cortex (PFC), that the mediodorsal thalamus sustains these representations without relaying categorical information. Specifically, mediodorsal input amplifies local PFC connectivity, enabling rule-specific neural sequences to emerge and thereby maintain rule representations. Consistent with this notion, broadly enhancing PFC excitability diminishes rule specificity and behavioural performance, whereas enhancing mediodorsal excitability improves both. Overall, our results define a previously unknown principle in neuroscience; thalamic control of functional cortical connectivity. This function, which is dissociable from categorical information relay, indicates that the thalamus has a much broader role in cognition than previously thought.
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“Thalamic input amplifies PFC connectivity, sustaining attentional control 24 and enabling sensory selection in divided attention 25.”
From Mechanisms of synaptic transmission dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex: pathophysiological implications (2022) · cites this paper as [24]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Schmitt, L. I., Wimmer, R. D., Nakajima, M., Happ, M., Mofakham, S., & Halassa, M. M.
- Affiliations
- NYU Langone Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Halassa, Michael M.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2017-05
- Volume
- 545
- Issue
- 7653
- Pages
- 219-223
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- PMC
- PMC5570520
- OpenAlex
- W2611485120
- Cited by
- 663
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 51 · 2025: 64 · 2024: 62 · 2023: 64 · 2022: 72 · 2021: 90 · 2020: 66 · 2019: 64 · 2018: 105 · 2017: 24
- FWCI
- 40.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH107680)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- mediodorsal thalamus, prefrontal cortex, cortical connectivity, attentional control, rule representation, thalamocortical interactions, neural sequences, persistent activity
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Attention, Cognition, Male, Neural Pathways, Thalamus, Prefrontal Cortex, Mice, Optogenetics
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