Network mechanisms underlying multisensory spatial attention

注意力通过调节感觉处理来提高知觉能力。上丘是大脑的一个区域，它主要通过引导行为朝向或远离显著刺激，以反射的方式引导注意力。5-羟色胺是一种由大脑自然释放的化学物质，它根据行为背景调节感知。以小鼠为模型系统，我们将研究上丘神经元如何帮助动物将注意力集中在先前与奖励相关的视觉或听觉刺激上。我们还将研究5-羟色胺如何调节行为选择。为了做到这一点，一个计算实验室和一个实验实验室将联手利用最近获得的非常大的数据集。在最近的实验中，我们记录了68个行为会话中大约6000个神经元的电活动。对这些记录的分析将揭示上丘神经元的活动如何与小鼠的行为反应有关。此外，我们最近的工作表明，不同的5-羟色胺受体参与了特定上丘神经元的调节，并可以以不同的方式调节行为反应。我们建议开发一个大规模的现实模型的上丘电路，包括受体，中介5-羟色胺的作用。这将允许我们使用这个模型测试新的假设，减少实验动物的数量，并允许改进新的实验。它还将揭示上丘神经元如何相互作用，以支持在定向行为过程中感觉信息的整合，以及它们是如何被5-羟色胺调制的。从长远来看，我们希望为翻译工作提供信息，以帮助开发针对感觉加工和注意力障碍的新型神经精神病学治疗方法。

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.