Brainstem control of visual orienting

在复杂行为的表现过程中产生平稳协调的动作是至关重要的 神经系统的目标。为了做到这一点，感官信息必须不断整合， 来构建世界上物体的表示。这一关键功能需要具备以下能力： 区分自我生成和物体运动，整合各种感官信息，并计划 并执行同步运动行为。调节选择的神经结构之间的相互作用 和执行协调运动，以及解决内在冲突的机制， 稳定反射和运动指令是理解神经控制的关键问题。 协调行动。协调眼头运动的神经控制是一个实验系统， 提供了重要的洞察力的神经机制介导的视觉定向行为。引导 对感兴趣的物体的视线（凝视）增强了我们对物体的感知， 来构建和维护一个世界的内部模型。注视方向的这些变化通常是 通过协调眼睛和头部来完成，并为研究 定向行为的神经控制，多个身体部分的协调，空间定向和 将感觉信息转化为运动指令。 拟议研究的目标是阐明所需的神经计算和机制 在视觉定向运动的背景下进行协调。我们将记录下神经元的活动， 当头部自由移动时，在凝视转移时脑干会发生变化。我们将决定 在这些细胞的活动与注视、眼睛和/或头部的度量和/或运动学之间 运动，我们将描述网状核细胞的活动，并确定 它们在产生头部运动中的作用，我们将同时记录下大脑中细胞的活动。 上级丘（SC）和SC下游细胞的研究，以揭示其内在机制 将SC信号转换为移动眼睛和头部所需的命令。 这些实验将提供令人兴奋的和新颖的洞察力的方式， 将感官输入转化为协调的动作。

Producing smoothly coordinated movements during performance of complex behaviors is an essential goal of the nervous system. To accomplish this, sensory information must be integrated continuously in order to construct a representation of objects in the world. This critical function requires the ability to distinguish between self-generated and object motion, to integrate diverse sensory information, and to plan and execute simultaneous motor behaviors. The interactions among neural structures that mediate selection and execution of coordinated movements, and the mechanisms that resolve the inherent conflict between stabilizing reflexes and motor commands are critical issues in understanding the neural control of coordinated action. The neural control of coordinated eye-head movements is an experimental system that has provided significant insights into the neural mechanisms mediating visual orienting behaviors. Directing the line of sight (gaze) towards interesting objects enhances our perception of the object and provides a way to construct and maintain an internal model of the world. These changes in gaze direction are generally accomplished by coordinating the eyes and head, and provide an excellent model system for studying the neural control of orienting behaviors, the coordination of multiple body segments, spatial orientation and transformation of sensory information into motor commands. The goals of the proposed research are to elucidate the neural computations and mechanisms required for coordination within the context of visual orienting movements. We will record the activity of neurons in the brainstem during gaze shifts made when the head is free to move. We will determine the relationship between the activity of these cells and the metrics and/or kinematics of the gaze, eye and/or head movements, we will characterize the activity of cells in the nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis and identify their role in generation of head movements, and we will record activity simultaneously from cells in the superior colliculus (SC) and cells downstreamfrom the SC in an effort to reveal the underlying mechanisms that transform SC signals into the commands needed to move the eyes and head. These experiments will provide exciting and novel insight into the ways in which the nervous system converts sensory inputs into coordinated actions.