Bernstein Seminar "A thalamo-cortical top-down circuit for associative memory"

Johannes LETZKUS

Institute for Physiology | Dept. I | University of Freiburg

Sensory neocortex is a critical substrate for memory. Despite its strong connection with the thalamus, the role of direct thalamo-cortical communication in memory remains elusive. We performed chronic in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging of thalamic synapses in auditory cortex layer 1, a major locus of cortical associations. Combined with optogenetics, viral tracing, whole-cell recording and computational modeling, we find that the higher-order thalamus is required for associative learning, and transmits memory-related information that closely correlates with acquired behavioral relevance. In turn, these signals are tightly and dynamically controlled by local presynaptic inhibition. Our results not only identify higher-order thalamus as a highly plastic source of cortical top-down information, but also reveal a level of computational flexibility in layer 1 that goes significantly beyond hard-wired connectivity.

Hosted by Ad Aertsen

Full list of BCF seminars: here

Feb 09, 2021 05:15 PM to 06:00 PM

Zoom Meeting. You can contact Fiona Siegfried for meeting ID and password.

Contact: here