MIT neuroscientists identified a brain circuit linking the pulvinar (lateral posterior thalamus in mice) with the anterior cingulate cortex that helps compare current sensory input against recent past experience. Using mice trained on a moving-dot direction task, two-photon imaging, and optogenetic perturbation, researchers found the pulvinar advises the ACC on how much sensory conditions have changed, allowing the ACC to decide whether to maintain or update a decision. The findings could inform research into autism, where predictive sensory filtering often differs from neurotypical patterns.
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