Corticothalamic feedback and sensory processing

Although nearly half of the synaptic input to neurons in the dorsal thalamus comes from the cerebral cortex, the role of corticothalamic projections in sensory processing remains elusive. Although sensory afferents certainly establish the basic receptive field properties of thalamic neurons, increas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in neurobiology 2003-08, Vol.13 (4), p.440-445
Main Authors: Alitto, Henry J, Usrey, W Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cerebral Cortex - physiology
Feedback, Physiological - physiology
Humans
Nerve Net - physiology
Neural Pathways - physiology
Neurons, Afferent - physiology
Thalamus - physiology
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Summary:Although nearly half of the synaptic input to neurons in the dorsal thalamus comes from the cerebral cortex, the role of corticothalamic projections in sensory processing remains elusive. Although sensory afferents certainly establish the basic receptive field properties of thalamic neurons, increasing evidence indicates that feedback from the cortex plays a crucial role in shaping thalamic responses. Here, we review recent work on the corticothalamic pathways associated with the visual, auditory, and somatosensory systems. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that sensory responses of thalamic neurons result from dynamic interactions between feedforward and feedback pathways.
ISSN:0959-4388
1873-6882
DOI:10.1016/S0959-4388(03)00096-5