CISBOOM · Convergence of Information from Separate Brain Areas to Orchestrate Orienting Movements
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2021-01-01 → 2023-02-25
- EU contribution
- €224,934
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Convergence of Information from Separate Brain Areas to Orchestrate Orienting Movements
The problem addressed in this project is how orienting movements are generated towards specific targets. Great evidence suggest that a midbrain area, the superior colliculus is responsible for directing and deciding about generating movement towards specific targets. However, it is unclear what are the cellular mechanisms that drive this movement. Here, by implementing a orienting task for head fixed mice we were able to dissect the activity of thousands of neurons in relation to orienting movement. We classified neurons based on the correlation of their responses with the ongoing behaviour and draw an anatomical map of functional responses in the superior colliculus. This revealed an interesting pattern with important consequence for visual and movement processing. This is important for society because it gives a novel understanding of how important cognitive functions, such as decision making are embodied in the brain. Importantly, in clinical cases of post-traumatic stress disorder this mechanism is impaired. Patient often make poor orienting decision when presented with certain stimuli and can violently orient towards or away from it in a way that can damages themselves or others. Previous work has demonstrated the important role of the superior colliculus in this disorder.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
To interact with our environment, we identify, locate and move towards objects of interest. This recruits multiple brain areas, handling separate aspects. Indeed, perception alone engages several cortical and subcortical areas, processing specific features or sensory modalities. How this information is then merged to create a unified percept is a fundamental question, known as the binding problem. Here, we address this question by studying the superior colliculus, a midbrain area essential for orienting. Inside this structure, a neuronal subpopulation forms segregated patches, which elicit precise head rotations, and receive sensory-, motor- and attentional-related inputs. These anatomical sites seem well poised to bring together information from similar locations or objects, to induce orienting towards them. To test this hypothesis, I will probe how coherent these converging inputs are, in terms of feature tuning and receptive field coordinates. To investigate if inputs convey filtered information, I will assess the functional diversity of afferent neurons in each brain area. I will then examine whether this content varies across recipient patches, to determine whether stimuli at distinctive positions trigger head rotations. To label and record presynaptic partners, I will employ monosynaptically restricted trans-synaptic viruses, combined with two photon calcium imaging in awake mice. This project will reveal how animals create a representation of space in order to execute target-oriented movements. Because the superior colliculus is an ancient and conserved structure, this is potentially evolution’s first attempt to bind coherent processes to guide movement, animal’s main concern.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNITED KINGDOM RESEARCH AND INNOVATION · SWINDONCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union