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

Takashi Sato建议结合使用新兴的光学和光遗传技术来识别不同类型神经元的具体贡献以及它们在形成感觉运动决策方面的各自输入。作为CIN新招聘的初级研究小组负责人，他将应用双光子成像技术对FEF中单个神经元和神经元组表达的钙信号进行成像，并结合连接追踪。使用这些技术，他将研究特定类型的神经元对猕猴视觉引导眼跳的不同功能贡献，作为做出感觉运动决定的合适底物。此外，该研究小组将研究特定输入对已识别类型的FEF细胞的作用，方法是在适当的光激活通道的靶向表达之后，用光来使这些输入失活或激活。与大多数其他小组成员不同，他将主要依靠绒猴，而不是恒河猴，因为这种新世界物种的无脑大脑似乎更容易接受光遗传方法。然而，这些方法显然并不局限于关于FEF在感觉运动决策中的作用的具体研究问题。相反，研究这一特定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，并将其传播给其他群体，因为到目前为止，这些方法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.