Event:

Interactions between the thalamus and cortex are critical for cognition, but the exact contribution of the thalamus has remained unclear. Classical models emphasize thalamic relay of information to or between cortical areas, yet recent work reveals bona fide thalamic computations and diverse output patterns that go beyond relay functions. In this talk, I will discuss findings demonstrating the role of the mediodorsal (MD) thalamus in generating task-relevant variables and dynamically regulating prefrontal excitatory/inhibitory balance and effective connectivity during decision making. These results suggest that the MD thalamus supports hierarchical reasoning and multi-step decisions by contributing to computations central to credit assignment. I will also present evidence spanning circuit manipulations in animals, performance-optimized neural models, and human neuroimaging, illustrating how this cross-species approach is advancing our understanding of thalamocortical contributions to cognition and their disruption in schizophrenia.