Editing Memory-prediction framework (section)

=== Thalamus ===
To account for storage and recognition of ''sequences'' of patterns, a combination of two processes is suggested. The nonspecific [[thalamus]] acts as a 'delay line' – that is, L5 activates this brain area, which re-activates L1 after a slight delay. Thus, the output of one column generates L1 activity, which will coincide with the input to a column which is temporally subsequent within a sequence. This time ordering operates in conjunction with the higher-level identification of the sequence, which does not change in time; hence, activation of the sequence representation causes the lower-level components to be predicted one after the other. (Besides this role in sequencing, the thalamus is also active as sensory [[Layover|waystation]] – these roles apparently involve distinct regions of this anatomically non-uniform structure.)