Cortically induced thalamic plasticity in the primate somatosensory system

Abstract

The influence of cortical feedback on receptive field organization in the thalamus was assessed in the primate somatosensory system. Chronic and acute suppression of neuronal activity in primary somatosensory cortex resulted in a striking enlargement of receptive fields in the ventroposterior thalamus. This finding demonstrates a dramatic 'top-down' influence of cortex on receptive field size in the somatosensory thalamus. In addition, this result has important implications for studies of adult neuronal plasticity because it indicates that changes in 'higher-order' areas of the brain can trigger extensive changes in the receptive field characteristics of neurons located earlier in the processing pathway.