Thalamic control of cortical dynamics in a model of flexible motor sequencing.

ABSTRACT: The neural mechanisms that generate an extensible library of motor motifs and flexibly string them into arbitrary sequences are unclear. We developed a model in which inhibitory basal ganglia output neurons project to thalamic units that are themselves bidirectionally connected to a recurrent cortical network. We model the basal ganglia inhibitory patterns as silencing some thalamic neurons while leaving others disinhibited and free to interact with cortex during specific motifs. We show that a small number of disinhibited thalamic neurons can control cortical dynamics to generate specific motor output in a noise-robust way. Additionally, a single "preparatory" thalamocortical network can produce fast cortical dynamics that support rapid transitions between any pair of learned motifs. If t

SUBMITTER: Logiaco L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8449509 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature