Intrinsic fluctuations modulate thalamic gating during the emergence of human conscious perception
- 1School of Psychology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University;State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, D
Abstract
Human conscious perception is not determined solely by external sensory input but is also shaped by moment-to-moment fluctuations in intrinsic brain states. However, how these intrinsic states directly function after stimulus onset to shape the emergence of conscious perception remains unclear. We recorded sEEG activity in thalamus and five other consciousness-related cortical regions, while 32 patients (n= 2,023 recording sites) conscious percept a near-threshold visual stimulus. Preceding the extensively evoked consciousness-related activities, there are early activities (0-200ms after stimulus onset) exclusively appeared in high-order thalamus. These early activities inversely associated with stimulus strength, which reflected an intrinsic state that compensated for the stimulus-evoked response to reach the conscious threshold. These early activities were closer to the critical state in conscious trials, which enables more efficient information processing. These results suggest that intrinsic fluctuations in the high-order thalamus directly modulate thalamic gating during the emergence of conscious perception.
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BibTeX
@misc{fang2026intrinsic,
title = {{Intrinsic fluctuations modulate thalamic gating during the emergence of human conscious perception}},
author = {Z. Fang and H. Shu and X. Chen and A. Peng and Y. Dang and H. Zhao and Z. Li and J. Zhao and S. Yu and L. Chen and M. Zhang},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.27.761793},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.27.761793v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Intrinsic fluctuations modulate thalamic gating during the emergence of human conscious perception
AU - Z. Fang
AU - H. Shu
AU - X. Chen
AU - A. Peng
AU - Y. Dang
AU - H. Zhao
AU - Z. Li
AU - J. Zhao
AU - S. Yu
AU - L. Chen
AU - M. Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.27.761793
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.27.761793v1
AB - Human conscious perception is not determined solely by external sensory input but is also shaped by moment-to-moment fluctuations in intrinsic brain states. However, how these intrinsic states directly function after stimulus onset to shape the emergence of conscious perception remains unclear. We recorded sEEG activity in thalamus and five other consciousness-related cortical regions, while 32 patients (n= 2,023 recording sites) conscious percept a near-threshold visual stimulus. Preceding the extensively evoked consciousness-related activities, there are early activities (0-200ms after stimulus onset) exclusively appeared in high-order thalamus. These early activities inversely associated with stimulus strength, which reflected an intrinsic state that compensated for the stimulus-evoked response to reach the conscious threshold. These early activities were closer to the critical state in conscious trials, which enables more efficient information processing. These results suggest that intrinsic fluctuations in the high-order thalamus directly modulate thalamic gating during the emergence of conscious perception.
ER -