The group of Carl Petersen (LSENS - Laboratoire de traitement sensoriel ) investigated the impact of thalamus on ongoing cortical activity in the awake, behaving mouse. They demonstrate that the desynchronized cortical state during active behavior is driven by a centrally generated increase in thalamic action potential firing, which can also be mimicked by optogenetic stimulation of the thalamus. The thalamus therefore is key in controlling cortical states.
Thalamic control of cortical states
