The Cerebral Cortex and Thalamus

For the first time, Drs. Usrey and Sherman, along with a who's who of luminaries in neuroscience research, seek to codify the roles that the cortex and thalamus and their interdependence on each other play for sensation, action, and cognition. The thalamus, in addition, has often been treated as a minor, rather insignificant player in cortical functioning. In the not too distant past, the thalamus was considered a rather boring, machine-like relay of subcortical information to the cortex. Over the past decade, there has been a groundswell of new and renewed interest in the thalamus and thalamocortical interactions, leading to discoveries demonstrating the thalamus's ongoing and essential role in cortical functioning and, likewise, the significance of the cortex for thalamic functioning. The Cerebral Cortex and Thalamus is a groundbreaking volume bringing together a cohesive account of cortical and thalamic mechanisms for control of behavior with an emphasis on the importance of interactions between the two structures. The book elucidates the research that makes it increasingly clear that the cortex and thalamus are necessary partners for sensory, motor, and cognitive functions. Interactions between thalamus and cortex are not only essential for proper brain function, they are also sensitive to a range of diseases that can have devastating consequences on individuals and society. An essential text for graduate students, early career investigators, and investigators looking to shift their research focus, The Cerebral Cortex and Thalamus is organized into topical sections covering circuit properties of thalamus and cortex, thalamocortical and corticothalamic motifs, sensory systems, motor systems, interareal cortical communication, cognitive properties, development and plasticity, evolution, computation, and disease.