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Thalamic network organisation across rest and recognition memory

Poster Session D - Monday, March 9, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballrooms

Matt Westerman¹ (matt.westerman@manchester.ac.uk), Yijia Chen¹, Safiya Hussain¹, Alex Kafkas¹; ¹Andrew Mayes Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

Thalamic nuclei form distinct cortico-subcortical circuits supporting executive control, motor planning, attention and memory; however, their intrinsic organisation at rest and relevance to episodic memory remain understudied. Using Human Connectome Project data, we conducted two complementary investigations. First, nucleus-resolved rest-ing-state fMRI in 198 young adults quantified functional connectivity among five bilateral thalamic regions: anterior thalamic nuclei (ANt), mediodorsal thalamus (MDt), pulvinar, ventral anterior (VA) and ventral lateral (VL). Seed-based and inter-nuclear analyses identified two modules: a VA–VL executive–motor network (mean r≈0.78) and an MDt–pulvinar associative–attentional network (mean r≈0.65), with ANt showing moderate coupling to VA and VL (r≈0.40). Second, in 166 participants completing a recognition-memory task, recollection (Remember) and familiarity (Know) were contrasted. Whole-brain analyses showed insular and cingulate engagement for both Remember>New and Know>New, with marginal hippocampal peaks under small-volume correction. Critically, Dynamic causal modelling suggested driving inputs to ANt during recollection and to MDt during familiarity; both conditions modulated bidirectional connections among hippocampus, ANt, perirhinal cortex (PRC) and MDT. Together, these results indicate separable thalamic modules at rest and condition-specific recruitment of ANt and MDt as drivers within hippocampal–thalamic–cortical circuitry. This integrated framework positions the thalamus as a hub linking cognitive and motor systems and motivates multimodal, behaviourally targeted analysis.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic