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.
References
Constantinople, C. M. & Bruno, R. M. Deep cortical layers are activated directly by thalamus. Science 340, 1591–1594 (2013)
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Yates, D. Parallel paths. Nat Rev Neurosci 14, 523 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3560
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3560