The Thalamic Bridge to Cognition and Consciousness

Issa, Lina

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/117927 Copy

Description

Title

The Thalamic Bridge to Cognition and Consciousness

Author(s)

Issa, Lina

Issue Date

2023

Keyword(s)

• brain structure
• thalamus
• cerebral cortex

Abstract

From an evolutionary perspective, deeper brain structures are postulated as being more primitive than those that were developed later on. As such, the thalamus, being a deep brain structure, is generally believed to occupy one such primitive role: that of a ‘sensory relay station’. Recent evidence, however, suggests that the thalamus is in fact responsible for more complex and higher order functions involving cognition and consciousness, processes previously attributed solely to the cerebral cortex. This review examines several of these emerging theories through the lens neural pathways, with particular focus placed on how the complex circuitry of the thalamus allows for the intricate connectivity between itself, the cerebral cortex, and other subcortical structures.

Publisher

UIUC Undergraduate Neuroscience Society

Series/Report Name or Number

Brain Matters Vol 5 Issue 2

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Copyright and License Information

Lina Issa

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