“…In addition to the modulation of tuning properties, it was observed that lemniscal corticothalamic feedback generally facilitates excitability of MGBv neurons (cats: Ryugo and Weinberger, 1976 ; Villa et al, 1991 ; He, 1997 ; guinea pigs: He et al, 2002 ; Yu et al, 2004 ; mice: Guo et al, 2017 ; Lohse et al, 2020 ; marmosets: Zhang et al, 2021 ). Deactivation of the auditory cortex decreases the spontaneous firing rate in MGBv neurons ( Ryugo and Weinberger, 1976 ; Villa et al, 1991 ; but see Zhang et al, 2021 ) while cortical activation enhances their responses to sounds ( He, 1997 ; He et al, 2002 ; Guo et al, 2017 ). The effect is, however, heterogeneous, and a minority of MGBv neurons can show suppression.…”