Thalamic gating during sleep oscillations

我对意识状态的生理基础的理解感兴趣，意识状态本质上是一种皮层现象。几乎所有到达大脑皮层的信息都要经过丘脑，丘脑是理解皮层功能的关键因素。感觉丘脑和丘脑皮质系统（躯体感觉、视觉等）的形态学和生理学是已知的。然而，中线丘脑核（MTN）的作用在很大程度上仍然是模糊的。来自这些核团的神经元可能负责产生有意识和无意识状态以及不同水平的警觉性。我建议不仅要研究这些神经元如何参与大脑状态的产生，而且还要研究它们的兴奋性的改变如何影响行为表现。

: I am interested in the understanding of physiological basis of conscious states, which is essentially a cortical phenomenon. Almost all information reaching cerebral cortex passes through the thalamus, which is a key element in the understanding of cortical function. Morphology and physiology of sensory thalamus and thalamocortical system (somatosensory, visual etc) is known. However, the role of midline thalamic nuclei (MTN) remains largely obscure. Neurons from these nuclei are likely responsible for the generation of conscious vs. unconscious states and different levels of alertness. I propose to investigate not only how these neurons are implicated in the generation of brain states, but also how a modification of their excitability could affect behavioral performance.