ReviewNature reviews. Neuroscience2021
Untangling the cortico-thalamo-cortical loop: cellular pieces of a knotty circuit puzzle.
Review in Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 133 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
133 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 246 citations in OpenAlex.
- Contributions of the left and right thalami to language: A meta-analytic approach.Brain structure & function · 2024Pooled it
- Tuft Dendrite Spikes Are Accompanied by Selective Input From Distinct Functional Networks.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Article
- Reciprocal connections dynamically build consensus between neocortical areas.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- RIFT: A Fractal-Holographic Theory of Consciousness and Autopoietic Control.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Auditory gamma-band synchronization and attentional performance in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.Epilepsia open · 2026Article
- Article
- Brain morphological changes in autism spectrum disorder related to multiple behavioral spectrums: a behavioral-causal structural covariance network analysis.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Conserved and specialized features of thalamocortical wiring revealed by single-cell projection mapping in mouse and marmoset.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Distinct sensorimotor encoding in tuft dendrites and somata associated with action, correction, and learning.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Thalamic, Hippocampal, and Amygdalar subregional volumetric alterations in neonates with isolated aEEG abnormalities.Neuroradiology · 2026Article
- Tuft dendrite spikes are accompanied by selective input from distinct functional networks.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Lifespan Trajectories of Asymmetry in White Matter Tracts.Human brain mapping · 2026Article
- Thalamic nuclei volumes across psychiatric and neurological disorders: a multi-site magnetic resonance imaging study.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Spatially defined axonal guidance in neural organoids with micropatterned microfluidic channels.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The role of transthalamic pathways in perception.Communications biology · 2026Review
- Imaging of Neurovascular Activity during Motor Responses Evoked by Displacement-guided Focused Ultrasound (DgFUS) Neuromodulation in Mice.Research square · 2026Article
- Data-driven mouse motor thalamus model reveals topography and spatial weight scaling govern spindle dynamics.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Moderating role of executive function in the relationship between specific white matter changes and long-term delayed recall in aMCI patients.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2026Article
- Distinct roles of cortical layer 5 subtypes in associative learning.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Circuit Organization of the Forelimb-Related M2-to-M1 Corticocortical Pathway in the Mouse.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Article
73 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Functions of the neocortex depend on its bidirectional communication with the thalamus, via cortico-thalamo-cortical (CTC) loops. Recent work dissecting the synaptic connectivity in these loops is generating a clearer picture of their cellular organization. Here, we review findings across sensory, motor and cognitive areas, focusing on patterns of cell type-specific synaptic connections between the major types of cortical and thalamic neurons. We outline simple and complex CTC loops, and note features of these loops that appear to be general versus specialized. CTC loops are tightly interlinked with local cortical and corticocortical (CC) circuits, forming extended chains of loops that are probably critical for communication across hierarchically organized cerebral networks. Such CTC-CC loop chains appear to constitute a modular unit of organization, serving as scaffolding for area-specific structural and functional modifications. Inhibitory neurons and circuits are embedded throughout CTC loops, shaping the flow of excitation. We consider recent findings in the context of established CTC and CC circuit models, and highlight current efforts to pinpoint cell type-specific mechanisms in CTC loops involved in consciousness and perception. As pieces of the connectivity puzzle fall increasingly into place, this knowledge can guide further efforts to understand structure-function relationships in CTC loops.
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Registered trials
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.