This monograph is based on two symposia organized by the Neurosciences Institute at The Rockefeller University. It presents current knowledge on the thalamus and views the thalamus as a whole rather than as a collection of unrelated nuclear masses. Chapters are organized in four sections: history, morphology, electrophysiology and state-related cellular modes. Topics addressed include the structure and function of intrinsic thalamic circuitry, thalamic modulation by cortical and brain- stem projections and the feedback onto the brain stem of thalamocortical and palaeocortical transactions.
Table of Contents
History - changing concepts of oscillations and activation processes
morphology - thalamic input-output relations
intrinsic circuitry in the thalamus and cortex-electrophysiology: intrinsic properties and ionic conductances of thalamic cells
state-related cellular modes - electrographic variables and methodology of behavioral states
the oscillatory mode during eeg-synchronized sleep
the relay mode during brain activated states
brain-stem control of the thalamus and states of vigilance.