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Rhythmic interactions between the mediodorsal thalamus and prefrontal cortex precede human visual perception

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin J. Griffiths

    (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

  • Tino Zaehle

    (Otto-von Guericke-University)

  • Stefan Repplinger

    (Otto-von Guericke-University
    Otto-von-Guericke University)

  • Friedhelm C. Schmitt

    (Otto-von Guericke-University)

  • Jürgen Voges

    (Otto-von-Guericke University)

  • Simon Hanslmayr

    (University of Glasgow)

  • Tobias Staudigl

    (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

Abstract

The thalamus is much more than a simple sensory relay. High-order thalamic nuclei, such as the mediodorsal thalamus, exert a profound influence over animal cognition. However, given the difficulty of directly recording from the thalamus in humans, next-to-nothing is known about thalamic and thalamocortical contributions to human cognition. To address this, we analysed simultaneously-recorded thalamic iEEG and whole-head MEG in six patients (plus MEG recordings from twelve healthy controls) as they completed a visual detection task. We observed that the phase of both ongoing mediodorsal thalamic and prefrontal low-frequency activity was predictive of perceptual performance. Critically however, mediodorsal thalamic activity mediated prefrontal contributions to perceptual performance. These results suggest that it is thalamocortical interactions, rather than cortical activity alone, that is predictive of upcoming perceptual performance and, more generally, highlights the importance of accounting for the thalamus when theorising about cortical contributions to human cognition.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin J. Griffiths & Tino Zaehle & Stefan Repplinger & Friedhelm C. Schmitt & Jürgen Voges & Simon Hanslmayr & Tobias Staudigl, 2022. "Rhythmic interactions between the mediodorsal thalamus and prefrontal cortex precede human visual perception," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-31407-z
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31407-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Julian Q. Kosciessa & Ulman Lindenberger & Douglas D. Garrett, 2021. "Thalamocortical excitability modulation guides human perception under uncertainty," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Ian C. Fiebelkorn & Mark A. Pinsk & Sabine Kastner, 2019. "The mediodorsal pulvinar coordinates the macaque fronto-parietal network during rhythmic spatial attention," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Zengcai V. Guo & Hidehiko K. Inagaki & Kayvon Daie & Shaul Druckmann & Charles R. Gerfen & Karel Svoboda, 2017. "Maintenance of persistent activity in a frontal thalamocortical loop," Nature, Nature, vol. 545(7653), pages 181-186, May.
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