Two distinct circuits drive inhibition in the sensory thalamus of the brain

The thalamus is a ‘Grand Central Station’ for sensory information coming to our brains. Almost every sight, sound, taste and touch travels to our brain’s cortex via the thalamus. Researchers now report that the somatosensory part of the thalamic reticular nucleus is divided into two functionally distinct sub-circuits that have their own types of genetically defined neurons that are topographically segregated, physiologically distinct and connect reciprocally with independent thalamocortical nuclei via dynamically divergent synapses.