Computational studies of spatial motion estimation and motor planning in the primate brain

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To execute accurate movements, maintain balance, navigate in space and perceive a visually stable world we rely critically on estimates of our self-motion and orientation. As we move, the central nervous system (CNS) integrates multiple sensory signals to estimate our spatial motion, combining and interpreting these signals as a function of the context in which they are sensed and how they will be used. My research investigates how the CNS creates these different self-motion representations and how they are used behaviorally. I address these questions using an interdisciplinary approach that combines experimental and computational techniques. In this application I am requesting funds to support my research program in computational neuroscience, the long-term goal of which is to develop hypotheses (in the form of computational models) for how the CNS creates and uses self-motion estimates for perception and action. Its aim is to generate testable predictions that inspire future experimental studies (in many labs, including my own). Recently, I developed a model to explore how a brainstem-cerebellar network resolves a fundamental problem associated with interpreting ambiguous vestibular signals. Several of its key predictions were verified through behavioral and neural recording studies. This model provides the starting point for a first set of projects that include: 1) extending the modeling framework to explore the general strategies brainstem-cerebellar circuits use to estimate self-motion and orientation in 3D; 2) developing a physiologically realistic model implementation to investigate how neural populations actually perform the required computations; 3) investigating how visual and proprioceptive cues are integrated with vestibular signals to compute different motion representations. Future work will explore how such subcortical motion representations are further processed in the cortex for various motor and perceptual tasks. Ultimately, this research will provide new insights into brain mechanisms that allow us to perceive and interact with our environment as we move. It will have application for treating balance and spatial disorientation problems as well as for robotics, neural prosthetics and space travel.