Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25913856›Full record

ArticleNeuron2015

A corticothalamic switch: controlling the thalamus with dynamic synapses.

Shane R Crandall, Scott J Cruikshank, Barry W Connors

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neuron, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 179 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
179citing papers in PubMed
18.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

179 citing papers in PubMed, 349 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  7. Deviance detection via competitive inhibition between local neocortical ensembles.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  8. KArchiv der Pharmazie · 2026
    Review
  9. Article
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  11. Article
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  14. Timing and Convergence of Ensemble Activity Govern Auditory Thalamocortical Transmission.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Tremor pathophysiology.Clinical parkinsonism & related disorders · 2026
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Synaptic Properties of Layer 6 Auditory Corticothalamic Inputs in Normal Hearing and Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  20. Layer 6 Corticothalamic Neurons Induce High Gamma Oscillations Through Cortico-cortical and Cortico-thalamo-cortical Pathways.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025
    Article

119 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Shane R CrandallDepartment of Neuroscience, Brown University, 185 Meeting Street, Box G-LN, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
Scott J CruikshankDepartment of Neuroscience, Brown University, 185 Meeting Street, Box G-LN, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
Barry W ConnorsDepartment of Neuroscience, Brown University, 185 Meeting Street, Box G-LN, Providence, RI 02912, USA. Electronic address: bc@brown.edu.
Brown University · US

Funding

Using microstimulation to map prefrontal fear modules in the ratP50MH086400 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI GRACE, ANTHONY A · 2009 to 2013
$10.3M
Functions of electrical synapses in inhibitory networksR01NS050434 · NINDS · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI CONNORS, BARRY W · 2005 to 2017
$3.6M
Functions of naturally diverse inhibitory networks in neocortexF32NS084763 · NINDS · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI CRANDALL, SHANE R · 2013 to 2015
$159k
NIMH NIH HHS P50 MH086400NIMH NIH HHS P50-MH086400NINDS NIH HHS F32 NS084763NINDS NIH HHS F32-NS084763NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS050434NINDS NIH HHS R01-NS050434
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Corticothalamic neurons provide massive input to the thalamus. This top-down projection may allow the cortex to regulate sensory processing by modulating the excitability of thalamic cells. Layer 6 corticothalamic neurons monosynaptically excite thalamocortical cells, but also indirectly inhibit them by driving inhibitory cells of the thalamic reticular nucleus. Whether corticothalamic activity generally suppresses or excites the thalamus remains unclear. Here we show that the corticothalamic influence is dynamic, with the excitatory-inhibitory balance shifting in an activity-dependent fashion. During low-frequency activity, corticothalamic effects are mainly suppressive, whereas higher-frequency activity (even a short bout of gamma frequency oscillations) converts the corticothalamic influence to enhancement. The mechanism of this switching depends on distinct forms of short-term synaptic plasticity across multiple corticothalamic circuit components. Our results reveal an activity-dependent mechanism by which corticothalamic neurons can bidirectionally switch the excitability and sensory throughput of the thalamus, possibly to meet changing behavioral demands.

Indexed as

AnimalsBacterial ProteinsCentral Nervous System StimulantsChannelrhodopsinsExcitatory Amino Acid AntagonistsExcitatory Postsynaptic Potentialsgamma-Aminobutyric AcidIn Vitro TechniquesLuminescent ProteinsMiceMice, Inbred ICRMice, TransgenicNeural PathwaysN-MethylaspartateOptogeneticsPicrotoxin2-amino-5-phosphopentanoic acidBacterial ProteinsCentral Nervous System StimulantsChannelrhodopsinsExcitatory Amino Acid Antagonistsgamma-Aminobutyric AcidLuminescent Proteinsneurotensin type 1 receptorN-MethylaspartatePicrotoxinReceptors, NeurotensinValineyellow fluorescent protein, Bacteria

Identifiers

PMID25913856
PMCPMC4425600
OpenAlexW1987261355

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.