Network mechanisms underlying multisensory spatial attention

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Attention improves perceptual abilities by modulating sensory processing. The superior colliculus is a brain region that is primarily involved in directing attention on a reflexive manner by guiding orienting behaviours towards or away from salient stimuli. Serotonin is a chemical naturally released by the brain that modulates perception depending on the behavioural context. Using the mouse as a model system, we will study how neurons in the superior colliculus help animals focus their attention to visual or auditory stimuli previously associated with a reward. We will also study how serotonin modulates behavioural choices. To do this, a computational and an experimental lab will join forces to capitalise on very large datasets recently acquired. On recent experiments, we have recorded the electrical activity of approximately 6000 neurons over 68 behavioural sessions. Analysis of these recordings will reveal how the activity of superior colliculus neurons relates to the behavioural responses of the mice. In addition, our recent work shows that different serotonin receptors are involved in the modulation of specific superior colliculus neurons and can modulate behavioural responses in different ways. We propose to develop a large-scale realistic model of the superior colliculus circuitry incorporating the receptors that mediate serotonin action. This will allow us to test new hypotheses using this model, reducing the number of experimental animals and allowing the refinement of new experiments. It will also reveal how superior colliculus neurons interact to support the integration of sensory information during orienting behaviours and how they are modulated by serotonin. In the long term, we hope to inform translational work aiding the development of novel neuropsychiatric treatments for sensory processing and attentional disorders.