Mechanisms for sensory prediction in a cerebellum-like circuit

复杂的神经系统赋予动物预测外部事件的能力，而不仅仅是对外部事件的反应。预测允许过去的经验指导行动，对感知和行动都至关重要。这项研究项目的目标是在突触、神经元和电路水平上了解预测能力的机制。这项研究利用了一个唯一适合解决这些问题的模型系统。电鱼产生微弱的电场，通过感知这些电场的变化，能够在黑暗中导航并找到猎物。然而，为了正确解释这些电感信号，鱼必须学会预测并抵消作为鱼自身运动的直接结果的输入成分。区分自身产生的感官信号和外部感官信号是一个非常普遍的问题，包括人类在内的所有动物都面临着这个问题。许多独特的优势使人们在理解电鱼大脑中预测和消除的神经生物学机制方面取得了重大进展。有趣的是，电鱼产生预测的神经回路与哺乳动物的小脑高度相似。虽然已知小脑对协调运动很重要，但小脑的确切功能尚不清楚。最近，有几条证据表明，灵长类小脑可能具有预测感觉事件的功能，类似于鱼类小脑样回路的已知功能。这个项目将对小脑回路的功能和预测感觉事件的神经机制产生新的见解。教育外展将利用电鱼耐人寻味的感官和运动能力，为学生和教师提供一个令人兴奋的生物和物理入口点。

Complex nervous systems endow animals with the ability to predict, rather than merely react to, external events. Predictions allow past experience to guide action and are critical for both perception and movement. The goal of this research project is to understand the mechanisms that underlie predictive capacities at the levels of synapses, neurons, and circuits. The research takes advantage of a model system that is uniquely suited to address these issues. Electric fish generate weak electrical fields and, by sensing changes in these fields, are able to navigate and find prey in the dark. However to properly interpret these electrosensory signals, the fish must learn to predict and cancel out components of the input that are a direct result of the fish's own movement. The problem of differentiating self-generated from external sensory signals is a very general one, faced by all animals, including humans. A number of unique advantages have enabled major progress in understanding the neurobiological mechanisms for prediction and cancellation in the brains of electric fish. Interestingly, the neural circuitry for generating predictions in electric fish is highly similar to that of the mammalian cerebellum. Though known to be important for coordinated movement, the exact function of the cerebellum is not understood. Recently, several lines of evidence have suggested that the primate cerebellum may function to predict sensory events, similar to the known function of cerebellum-like circuits in fish. This project will yield novel insights into the functions of cerebellar circuitry and the neural mechanisms for predicting sensory events. Educational outreach will take advantage of the intriguing sensory and motor capacities of electric fish to provide students and teachers with an exciting entry point into biology and physics.