Over the past few decades, research has identified a key role of the pulvinar nucleus in visual selective attention. An emerging hypothesis suggests that the pulvinar is involved in coordinating the synchronization of cortical areas within the dorsal attention network through the alpha bands (8-12Hz). However, our understanding of the specific contribution of the pulvinar to this process predominantly stems from non-human primate models, and a notable gap in knowledge remains concerning the human cognition.

To address this issue, we adopted a causal approach to investigate the relationship between the pulvinar and brain oscillations. Leveraging EEG in stroke patients, we recorded brain activity during both resting-state and a visual search task (VST) to assess the patients’ cognitive performance together with associated neural dynamics. We conducted an event- related potential (ERP) analysis to link behavioral differences with modulation of the N2pc ERP component — a well-defined biomarker of selective attention — and we used the resting state data to analyze alpha power and sensor-level connectivity while participants had their eyes open (EO) and closed (EC).

Our results reveal significant deficits in the VST among patients with pulvinar lesions, characterized by increased response times and an absence of N2pc component. These patients also showed altered neural oscillations in the alpha band as well as disrupted connectivity patterns during resting state EC. This supports the pulvinar's role in modulating corticocortical communication in the alpha band.

These findings confirm the importance of the pulvinar in selective attention processes and add new support to its role in shaping cortical connectivity.