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Advances in understanding mechanisms of thalamic relays in cognition and behavior.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Mitchell, AS; Sherman, SM; Sommer, MA; Mair, RG; Vertes, RP; Chudasama, Y
Published in: The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
November 2014

The main impetus for a mini-symposium on corticothalamic interrelationships was the recent number of studies highlighting the role of the thalamus in aspects of cognition beyond sensory processing. The thalamus contributes to a range of basic cognitive behaviors that include learning and memory, inhibitory control, decision-making, and the control of visual orienting responses. Its functions are deeply intertwined with those of the better studied cortex, although the principles governing its coordination with the cortex remain opaque, particularly in higher-level aspects of cognition. How should the thalamus be viewed in the context of the rest of the brain? Although its role extends well beyond relaying of sensory information from the periphery, the main function of many of its subdivisions does appear to be that of a relay station, transmitting neural signals primarily to the cerebral cortex from a number of brain areas. In cognition, its main contribution may thus be to coordinate signals between diverse regions of the telencephalon, including the neocortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and striatum. This central coordination is further subject to considerable extrinsic control, for example, inhibition from the basal ganglia, zona incerta, and pretectal regions, and chemical modulation from ascending neurotransmitter systems. What follows is a brief review on the role of the thalamus in aspects of cognition and behavior, focusing on a summary of the topics covered in a mini-symposium held at the Society for Neuroscience meeting, 2014.

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Published In

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience

DOI

EISSN

1529-2401

ISSN

0270-6474

Publication Date

November 2014

Volume

34

Issue

46

Start / End Page

15340 / 15346

Related Subject Headings

  • Thalamus
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Neural Pathways
  • Learning
  • Humans
  • Cognition
  • Cerebral Cortex
  • Behavior
  • Animals
  • 3209 Neurosciences
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Mitchell, A. S., Sherman, S. M., Sommer, M. A., Mair, R. G., Vertes, R. P., & Chudasama, Y. (2014). Advances in understanding mechanisms of thalamic relays in cognition and behavior. The Journal of Neuroscience : The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 34(46), 15340–15346. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.3289-14.2014
Mitchell, Anna S., S Murray Sherman, Marc A. Sommer, Robert G. Mair, Robert P. Vertes, and Yogita Chudasama. “Advances in understanding mechanisms of thalamic relays in cognition and behavior.The Journal of Neuroscience : The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience 34, no. 46 (November 2014): 15340–46. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.3289-14.2014.
Mitchell AS, Sherman SM, Sommer MA, Mair RG, Vertes RP, Chudasama Y. Advances in understanding mechanisms of thalamic relays in cognition and behavior. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 2014 Nov;34(46):15340–6.
Mitchell, Anna S., et al. “Advances in understanding mechanisms of thalamic relays in cognition and behavior.The Journal of Neuroscience : The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience, vol. 34, no. 46, Nov. 2014, pp. 15340–46. Epmc, doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3289-14.2014.
Mitchell AS, Sherman SM, Sommer MA, Mair RG, Vertes RP, Chudasama Y. Advances in understanding mechanisms of thalamic relays in cognition and behavior. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 2014 Nov;34(46):15340–15346.

Published In

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience

DOI

EISSN

1529-2401

ISSN

0270-6474

Publication Date

November 2014

Volume

34

Issue

46

Start / End Page

15340 / 15346

Related Subject Headings

  • Thalamus
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Neural Pathways
  • Learning
  • Humans
  • Cognition
  • Cerebral Cortex
  • Behavior
  • Animals
  • 3209 Neurosciences