Thalamic circuits for independent control of prefrontal signal and noise.

ABSTRACT: Interactions between the mediodorsal thalamus and the prefrontal cortex are critical for cognition. Studies in humans indicate that these interactions may resolve uncertainty in decision-making¹, but the precise mechanisms are unknown. Here we identify two distinct mediodorsal projections to the prefrontal cortex that have complementary mechanistic roles in decision-making under uncertainty. Specifically, we found that a dopamine receptor (D2)-expressing projection amplifies prefrontal signals when task inputs are sparse and a kainate receptor (GRIK4) expressing-projection suppresses prefrontal noise when task inputs are dense but conflicting. Collectively, our data suggest that there are distinct brain mechanisms for handling uncertainty due to low signals versus uncertainty du

SUBMITTER: Mukherjee A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8636261 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature