Cunningham et al. 2004), following a suppression of BK channels. Whilst intrinsic oscillatory activity is also a common and important feature of other brain areas, we propose that these novel modes of operation of TC neurons may be a key component in shaping synchronized brain oscillations at both low and high cognitively-relevant frequencies. Finally, we suggest that a disruption of the mechanisms that underlie these unusual forms of intrinsic oscillatory activity may be an important aspect of several pathological scenarios that affect cognitive performance (Llinás et al. 1999), or are associated with excessive rhythmicity in thalamocortical networks (Crunelli and Leresche 2002).
