The Human Thalamus Is an Integrative Hub for Functional Brain Networks

The thalamus is globally connected with distributed cortical regions, yet the functional significance of this extensive thalamocortical connectivity remains largely unknown. By performing graph-theoretic analyses on thalamocortical functional connectivity data collected from human participants, we found that most thalamic subdivisions display network properties that are capable of integrating multimodal information across diverse cortical functional networks. From a meta-analysis of a large dataset of functional brain-imaging experiments, we further found that the thalamus is involved in multiple cognitive functions. Finally, we found that focal thalamic lesions in humans have widespread distal effects,…

• ET
  Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
• NI
  National Institutes of Health
• NI
  National Institute of Mental Health