Change detection by thalamic reticular neurons

This paper shows that neurons in the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) respond strongly to unexpected sounds and convey this information to the auditory thalamus, modulating the responses of medial geniculate body (MGB) neurons in complex ways. Unexpectedly, visual stimuli via the TRN also modulated the 'auditory' MGB, suggesting a new site of cross-modal sensory integration.