Dissecting the structure and function of vertebrate sensorimotor neural circuits using larval zebrafish

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Essential to our daily lives is the ability to use sensory information to plan and produce goal-directed movements. Such behaviours include basic tasks like reaching for an object or walking up a flight of stairs. Despite the relative simplicity of these behaviours, there is an astounding amount of complexity in the so-called “sensorimotor neural circuits” that control them. Determining the structure and function of these circuits that underlie sensation and movement is essential to understanding how the brain produces behaviour. Some of the challenges faced by neuroscientists in unraveling circuit function are the sheer number of neurons in the mammalian brain and their incredible diversity. Additionally, the scale and opacity of the brain hinders our ability to thoroughly record neuronal activity during behaviour. Recent technological advances in molecular biology, microscopy and computing have made it possible to begin to overcome some of these experimental hurdles. These advances present researchers with an unprecedented opportunity to make fundamental discoveries about how neural circuits operate.