Imaging and manipulating neural circuits involved in visual motion processing underlying perception and visuomotor behaviour

Takashi Sato建议将新兴的光学和光遗传学技术相结合，以确定不同类型的神经元及其各自的输入对感觉运动决策形成的具体贡献。作为新招募的初级研究小组组长，他将应用FEF中单个神经元和神经元群表达的ca信号的双光子成像，并结合连接追踪。利用这些技术，他将研究特定类型的神经元在狨猴视觉引导的扫视中作为感觉运动决策的合适基质方面的独特功能贡献。此外，该小组将通过光灭活或激活这些输入来研究特定输入对确定类型的FEF细胞的作用，并遵循合适的光激活通道的靶向表达。与大多数其他小组成员不同，他将主要依靠狨猴，而不是恒河猴，因为这种新世界物种的无脑大脑似乎更适合于光遗传学方法。然而，这些方法显然并不局限于FEF在感觉运动决策中的作用这一具体研究问题。相反，研究这个具体问题将有助于建立和完善这项技术，以便将其应用于灵长类动物，并将其推广到其他群体，因为这些方法迄今为止主要局限于对啮齿动物大脑的研究。

Takashi Sato proposes to use a combination of emerging optical and optogenetic techniques to identify specific contributions of different types of neurons and their respective input to the formation of sensorimotor decisions. As a newly recruited junior research group leader at the CIN, he will apply 2-photon imaging of Ca-signals expressed by single neurons and groups of neurons in the FEF in combination with the tracing of connections. Using these techniques, he will investigate distinct functional contributions of specific types of neurons with respect to visually guided saccades in marmoset monkeys as a suitable substrate of sensorimotor decisions. Furthermore, this group will examine the role of specific inputs to identified types of FEF cells by deactivating or activating these inputs by light, following the targeted expression of suitable light-activated channels. Unlike most other group members, he will primarily rely on marmosets, instead of rhesus monkeys, since the lissencencephalic brains of this new world species seems to be more amenable for the optogenetic methods. However, these methods are clearly not confined to the specific research question on the role of FEF in sensorimotor decisions. Rather, working on this specific question will help to establish and to refine this technology for its application in primates and to disseminate it to other groups, since these methods have so far been largely confined to studies of the rodent brain.