Should I stay or should I go? A thalamic circuit for modulating behavioral responses to visual threat

Article Neurosciences

Flexible inhibitory control of visually evoked defensive behavior by the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus

Alex Fratzl et al.

Summary: Animals can choose to act on or ignore sensory stimuli based on prior experience and perception of threat level in the environment, which is controlled by the activity of the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN). The vLGN plays a critical role in modulating escape responses and risk-avoidance behavior in animals, particularly in response to visual threats.

NEURON (2021)

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Review Neurosciences

Unraveling circuits of visual perception and cognition through the superior colliculus

Michele A. Basso et al.

Summary: The superior colliculus is a conserved structure that integrates sensory information to drive reflex behaviors, but also plays a role in higher cognitive functions like attention and decision-making. With connections to forebrain structures, it has the potential to influence processing throughout the nervous system.

NEURON (2021)

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Article Cell Biology

Divergent outputs of the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus mediate visually evoked defensive behaviors

Lindsey D. Salay et al.

Summary: The study reveals the critical role of the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN) in controlling defensive behaviors to visual threats, showing that vLGN(GABA) neuron activity is modulated by environmental illumination and behavioral state. It also identifies circuits from vLGN to nucleus reuniens (Re) and superior colliculus (SC) that exert opposite influences on defensive responses, indicating the involvement of vLGN subpopulations in modulating behavioral threat responses according to internal state.

CELL REPORTS (2021)

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Review Neurosciences