Thalamocortical radiations

Brain: Thalamocortical radiations
Deep dissection of brain-stem. Lateral view. (Thalamocortical fibers labeled at center top.)
Dissection of brain-stem. Dorsal view. (Thalamocortical fibers labeled at upper left.)
Latin	radiatio thalamocorticalis; tractus thalamocorticalis
NeuroNames	ancil-399

Thalamocortical radiations are the fibers between the thalamus and the cerebral cortex.

The "thalamocortical loop" is the functional loop between these two structures. The loop consists of projections from thalamus to cortex (feedforward and driving inputs) and from cortex back to thalamus. These projections usually remain within the same sensory or motor nuclei and cortex areas. The loops are involved in the production of sleep spindles, absence seizures, and the control of the propagation of sensory information.

Evolutionary significance

Computational neuroscientists are particularly interested in thalamocortical loops because they represent a structure that is disproportionally larger in humans than other mammals (when body size is taken into account) and thus may make a significant contribution to humans' special cognitive abilities.^[1]

Clinical significance

Thalamocortical Oscillations are constantly working in a normal human brain and when disrupted cause Petit Mal Seizures or Absence Seizures where the affected will stare into space and obtain a momentary lapse of consciousness. This is a form of Epilepsy where depending on the person the seizure can force purposeless bodily jerks and/or eye twitches which can differ from 10 times a day to 100.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ Rodriguez A, Whitson J, Granger R (2004). "Derivation and analysis of basic computational operations of thalamocortical circuits". Journal of cognitive neuroscience 16 (5): 856–77. doi:10.1162/089892904970690. PMID 15200713. http://www.ics.uci.edu/~granger/RHGtc4s.pdf. 

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