Chinese scientists from State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Division of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, published a new study in Science (Fang et al., 2025) challenges cortico-centric models of consciousness by demonstrating that high-order thalamic nuclei actively gate human awareness. Using intracranial sEEG recordings, researchers found that activity in the intralaminar and medial thalamus preceded and predicted conscious visual perception, outperforming cortical signals. Theta-band synchrony between the thalamus and prefrontal cortex further suggests a thalamofrontal loop critical for conscious access. These findings offer a revised framework for understanding awareness and have implications for treating disorders of consciousness.
Citation: Fang, Z. et al. (2025). The Thalamus Gates Human Conscious Perception. Science, 387(6738). DOI: 10.1126/science.adr3675
