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Research ArticlesCortex Is Driven by Weak but Synchronously Active Thalamocortical Synapses
Sensory stimuli reach the brain via the thalamocortical projection, a group of axons thought to be among the most powerful in the neocortex. Surprisingly, these axons account for only Department of Cell Physiology, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bruno{at}mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de
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15% of synapses onto cortical neurons. The thalamocortical pathway might thus achieve its effectiveness via high-efficacy thalamocortical synapses or via amplification within cortical layer 4. In rat somatosensory cortex, we measured in vivo the excitatory postsynaptic potential evoked by a single synaptic connection and found that thalamocortical synapses have low efficacy. Convergent inputs, however, are both numerous and synchronous, and intracortical amplification is not required. Our results suggest a mechanism of cortical activation by which thalamic input alone can drive cortex. 
Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)
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