Yuri Saalmann, Ph.D.

• Professor and Associate Chair of Graduate Studies
• Department of Psychology
• University of Wisconsin–Madison

Thalamo-cortical processes for cognitive control and conscious states

Projections from the cerebral cortex to the thalamus have the key feature of convergence, which forces high-dimensional activity patterns in the cerebral cortex – useful for distinguishing between similar situations and supporting a wide range of behaviors – to be compressed, giving rise to lower-dimensional representations in the thalamus that coincide with simpler, latent variables. This lower-dimensional information can then be shared via divergent outputs from the thalamus to the cerebral cortex, ensuring efficient, robust information processing across the brain. I will discuss two examples. First, thalamic selection of abstract rules and shaping of prefrontal cortical dynamics for cognitive control. Second, thalamic configuration of sensory and cognitive processes for different conscious states.

Faculty Host: Dr. Veit Stuphorn