Frequency-dependent thalamocortical transfer limits sustained cortical expression of sensory drive
Abstract
Frequency-dependent sensory drive must pass through thalamocortical pathways before cortical expression, yet how high-frequency input is transformed into sustained cortical activity remains unclear. We combined 11.7-T fMRI, pathway-specific optogenetic stimulation, tuned-burst thalamic drive, and dynamic causal modeling (DCM) in dexmedetomidine-sedated rats to examine the ventral posterolateral thalamus (VPL)-to-primary somatosensory forelimb cortex (S1FL) pathway. Peripheral forepaw stimulation revealed intermediate-frequency cortical tuning, whereas thalamic nuclei remained responsive at high frequencies. Direct S1FL activation evoked sustained high-frequency blood-oxygen-level-dependent responses, indicating that cortex can express high-frequency drive when upstream relay is bypassed. In contrast, direct VPL activation produced strong thalamic responses but weak, onset-dominated high-frequency cortical responses, and tuned-burst stimulation showed temporal compression before cortical expression. DCM indicated preferential enhancement of VPL-to-S1FL effective connectivity at intermediate frequencies. These findings identify a frequency-dependent bottleneck in VPL-to-S1FL transfer, rather than local cortical responsiveness, as a constraint on sustained cortical expression of temporally dense sensory input.
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BibTeX
@article{yu2026frequencydependent,
title = {{Frequency-dependent thalamocortical transfer limits sustained cortical expression of sensory drive}},
author = {Zijuan Yu and Haoyu Wang and Yan Zhuo and Zhentao Zuo},
journal = {iScience},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.isci.2026.118035},
url = {https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)03418-8},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Frequency-dependent thalamocortical transfer limits sustained cortical expression of sensory drive
AU - Zijuan Yu
AU - Haoyu Wang
AU - Yan Zhuo
AU - Zhentao Zuo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - iScience
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2026.118035
UR - https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)03418-8
AB - Frequency-dependent sensory drive must pass through thalamocortical pathways before cortical expression, yet how high-frequency input is transformed into sustained cortical activity remains unclear. We combined 11.7-T fMRI, pathway-specific optogenetic stimulation, tuned-burst thalamic drive, and dynamic causal modeling (DCM) in dexmedetomidine-sedated rats to examine the ventral posterolateral thalamus (VPL)-to-primary somatosensory forelimb cortex (S1FL) pathway. Peripheral forepaw stimulation revealed intermediate-frequency cortical tuning, whereas thalamic nuclei remained responsive at high frequencies. Direct S1FL activation evoked sustained high-frequency blood-oxygen-level-dependent responses, indicating that cortex can express high-frequency drive when upstream relay is bypassed. In contrast, direct VPL activation produced strong thalamic responses but weak, onset-dominated high-frequency cortical responses, and tuned-burst stimulation showed temporal compression before cortical expression. DCM indicated preferential enhancement of VPL-to-S1FL effective connectivity at intermediate frequencies. These findings identify a frequency-dependent bottleneck in VPL-to-S1FL transfer, rather than local cortical responsiveness, as a constraint on sustained cortical expression of temporally dense sensory input.
SN - 2589-0042
ER -