Logo image
Back
Thalamocortical contributions to hierarchical cognitive control
Preprint   Open access

Thalamocortical contributions to hierarchical cognitive control

Xitong Chen, Stephanie C Leach, Juniper Hollis, Dillan Cellier and Kai Hwang
bioRxiv
Cold Spring Harbor laboratory
06/25/2024
DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.24.600427
PMCID: PMC11230235
PMID: 38979282
url
https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.06.24.600427View
Preprint (Author's original)This preprint has not been evaluated by subject experts through peer review. Preprints may undergo extensive changes and/or become peer-reviewed journal articles. Open Access

Abstract

Cognitive flexibility relies on hierarchically structured task representations that organize task contexts, relevant environmental features, and subordinate decisions. Despite ongoing interest in the human thalamus, its role in cognitive control has been understudied. This study explored thalamic representation and thalamocortical interactions that contribute to hierarchical cognitive control in humans. We found that several thalamic nuclei, including the anterior, mediodorsal, ventrolateral, and pulvinar nuclei, exhibited stronger evoked responses when subjects switch between task contexts. Decoding analysis revealed that thalamic activity preferentially encodes task contexts within the hierarchical task representations. To determine how thalamocortical interactions contribute to task representations, we developed a thalamocortical functional interaction model to predict task-related cortical representation. This data-driven model outperformed comparison models, particularly in predicting activity patterns in cortical regions that encode context representations. Collectively, our findings highlight the significant contribution of thalamic activity and thalamocortical interactions for contextually guided hierarchical cognitive control.Cognitive flexibility relies on hierarchically structured task representations that organize task contexts, relevant environmental features, and subordinate decisions. Despite ongoing interest in the human thalamus, its role in cognitive control has been understudied. This study explored thalamic representation and thalamocortical interactions that contribute to hierarchical cognitive control in humans. We found that several thalamic nuclei, including the anterior, mediodorsal, ventrolateral, and pulvinar nuclei, exhibited stronger evoked responses when subjects switch between task contexts. Decoding analysis revealed that thalamic activity preferentially encodes task contexts within the hierarchical task representations. To determine how thalamocortical interactions contribute to task representations, we developed a thalamocortical functional interaction model to predict task-related cortical representation. This data-driven model outperformed comparison models, particularly in predicting activity patterns in cortical regions that encode context representations. Collectively, our findings highlight the significant contribution of thalamic activity and thalamocortical interactions for contextually guided hierarchical cognitive control.

Details

Metrics

15 Record Views
Logo image