By optogenetically silencing thalamus, the authors show that visual cortex does not sustain a response without thalamus for more than a few tens of milliseconds. This rapid cortical activity decay predicts the temporal dynamics of sensory activity transmission between thalamus and cortex in awake animals, whereas under anesthesia, the fidelity of thalamo-cortical connection is dominated by the effect of synaptic depression.
- Kimberly Reinhold
- Anthony D Lien
- Massimo Scanziani
