title: The gating of neocortical information by modulators.
abstract: Thalamic input to the neocortex is crucial for sensory perception and constitutes the basis of complex awake behavior. Connections within the neocortex play an important role in internally generated neural activity, which is considered critical for memory retrieval and for the generation of imagery in our dreams. Modulatory neurotransmitters, such as noradrenaline and acetylcholine, gate information transmission in the brain. Favero et al. (J Neurophysiol 108: 1010-1024, 2012) show that modulators differentially facilitate thalamocortical relative to intracortical transmission in the input layers of cortex.
authors.affiliation: The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. carmenv@mit.edu
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Varela
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D019579:Neocortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D055139:Sensory Gating; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D013788:Thalamus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents