Neuroscience Seminar Series for Rising Scholars: Amber Howell, PhD (PI: Linden Parkes & Avram Holmes)
“Thalamic Connectivity Constrains Functional Brain Dynamics”
Speaker: Amber Howell, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, PI: Drs. Linden Parkes & Avram Holmes
Date and Time: Monday, April 27, 2026, 12:00 PM
In-Person: Room 127, Staged Research Building (SRB), Busch Campus
Join via Zoom: Please email the host, Dr. Noelle Stiles (noelle.stiles@rutgers.edu), or check the CAHBIR Slack #General thread for the link
Abstract: Understanding how flexible brain dynamics emerge from a relatively fixed anatomical architecture is a fundamental goal in neuroscience. Mounting evidence points to the engagement of thalamic loops as a crucial mechanism by which cortical areas achieve functional flexibility. Through their dense, reciprocal anatomical connections spanning the cortex, thalamic loops are well positioned to shape brain dynamics, yet their contribution to functional brain organization remains poorly defined, particularly in humans. Here, we integrate multimodal neuroimaging and behavioral data from a large cohort of healthy adults, along with post-mortem tissue samples, to characterize how the pattern of anatomical connections within the thalamus constrains cortical dynamics at rest. We find that cortical areas with more diffuse thalamic connections exhibit greater functional variability and reorganization of thalamocortical dynamics. Variation in thalamic connectivity patterns also aligns with distinct cortical cell-type profiles and an axis of cortical organization that links cortical functional variability to cognitive performance, suggesting interactions between local microcircuit organization and long-range anatomical constraints to shape computational properties of the cortical sheet. Together, these data reveal complex thalamocortical architectural constraints on cortical dynamics, linking functional variability and underlying cellular mechanisms to interregional differences associated with cognitive function.: Understanding how flexible brain dynamics emerge from a relatively fixed anatomical architecture is a fundamental goal in neuroscience. Mounting evidence points to the engagement of thalamic loops as a crucial mechanism by which cortical areas achieve functional flexibility. Through their dense, reciprocal anatomical connections spanning the cortex, thalamic loops are well positioned to shape brain dynamics, yet their contribution to functional brain organization remains poorly defined, particularly in humans. Here, we integrate multimodal neuroimaging and behavioral data from a large cohort of healthy adults, along with post-mortem tissue samples, to characterize how the pattern of anatomical connections within the thalamus constrains cortical dynamics at rest. We find that cortical areas with more diffuse thalamic connections exhibit greater functional variability and reorganization of thalamocortical dynamics. Variation in thalamic connectivity patterns also aligns with distinct cortical cell-type profiles and an axis of cortical organization that links cortical functional variability to cognitive performance, suggesting interactions between local microcircuit organization and long-range anatomical constraints to shape computational properties of the cortical sheet. Together, these data reveal complex thalamocortical architectural constraints on cortical dynamics, linking functional variability and underlying cellular mechanisms to interregional differences associated with cognitive function.
