# Thalamocortical state control of tactile sensing: Mechanisms, Models, and Behavior

> **NIH NIH R01** · GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2020 · $467,000

## Abstract

Thalamocortical state control of tactile sensing: Mechanisms, Models, and Behavior
Despite the fact that the sensory thalamus plays a major role in shaping sensory representations in cortex, and
thus shaping our percepts, most of what we know has been determined through electrophysiological
investigation of the thalamus in-vitro or in the anesthetized brain. Properties of thalamic activity such as mean
firing rates, timing and synchrony, and tonic/burst firing directly determine how sensory inputs are represented
in the spatiotemporal activation of cortex. Modulations in thalamic “state” through changes in baseline levels of
depolarization strongly influence the gating properties of the dynamic relay of sensory signals to cortex during
normal behavior. Using the vibrissa pathway of the awake mouse, our team is uniquely positioned to precisely
quantify and control thalamic state, and measure the downstream impact on spatiotemporal cortical
representations, using a range of multi-scale electrophysiological and optical measurements, causal
manipulations, modeling, and sensory behavioral tasks. We will first Determine Thalamic State Control of
Sensory Information Processing in the awake mouse (Aim 1). A range of separate experiments will utilize
single unit and LFP recording across thalamus and S1 and widefield genetically expressed voltage sensor
imaging in S1 to fully capture and model the range of modulations in thalamic firing, synchronization, and
tonic/burst firing in the awake brain. We will then conduct experiments that parallel Aim 1 in which we
optogenetically manipulate thalamic state, to determine the causal role of thalamic firing modes on
spatiotemporal representations of sensory inputs in cortex (Aim 2). Finally, we will Determine Thalamic State
Control of Sensory Percepts in behavior, in a well-defined whisker detection and spatial (two-whisker)
discrimination tasks (Aim 3), employing the same electrophysiology/imaging and optogenetic manipulation
approaches across thalamus and cortex as in Aims 1 and 2. Significance: The thalamocortical circuit is
continuously controlled by modulatory inputs that fundamentally shape information processing relevant for
perception and behavior. However, the precise link between thalamic state and the resultant percept remains a
major open question in neuroscience. We will determine how cortical representations changes through
modulation in thalamic input and the consequences of this on perception. Broad Impacts: Dysfunction of brain
state has been implicated in an incredibly wide range of neurological disorders ranging from dysfunction of
arousal in narcolepsy to dysfunction of neuromodulators in mood disorders such as depression. Furthermore,
recent genome wide association studies have implicated voltage-gated calcium channels found in brain
structures including thalamus and cortex as risk loci for both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Finally, we also
assert that understanding of the interaction b...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9849820
- **Project number:** 5R01NS104928-03
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** Garrett B. Stanley
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $467,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-01-01 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9849820

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9849820, Thalamocortical state control of tactile sensing: Mechanisms, Models, and Behavior (5R01NS104928-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9849820. Licensed CC0.

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