Cortical cell assemblies, laminar interaction, and thalamocortical interplay

Abstract

Hebb's concept of cell assemblies was formulated in a highly schematized and simplified version of the cerebral cortex. This paper present two parallel hypotheses of how cell assemblies might actually be realised in the cortex. The first hypothesis concerns interaction between laminae II/III and lamina V of the cortex. The second concerns interactions between cortex and thalamus. In both hypothesis, laminae II and III are envisaged to form a relatively inactive "library" in which information is stored as strengthened connections. The other components are responsible for "priming" this store to allow registration and retrieval of memory. Specially, lamina V performs this role for local cortical interactions while the thalamus does so on a larger scale, which includes temporal coordination of neuronal firing across the cortex.