The role of higher-order thalamus during learning and correct performance in goal-directed behavior.

The thalamus is a gateway to the cortex. Cortical encoding of complex behavior can therefore only be understood by considering the thalamic processing of sensory and internally generated information. Here, we use two-photon Ca imaging and optogenetics to investigate the role of axonal projections from the posteromedial nucleus of the thalamus (POm) to the forepaw area of the mouse primary somatosensory cortex (forepaw S1).