In the standard view of sensory processing, information is conveyed from the thalamus to cortical layer 4 (L4), L2/3 and then L5/6. In a new study in rats, barrel cortex whole-cell recordings showed that postsynaptic potentials with similar latencies occurred in L4 and many L5/6 neurons after whisker stimulation, and paired in vivo recordings revealed that thalamocortical neurons may directly synapse onto L5 neurons. Moreover, lidocaine-induced suppression of L4 activity did not affect L5/6 sensory-evoked activity. Thus, in sensory processing, the thalamus may activate parallel cortical pathways.