SSA: Probing the function of dopaminergic inputs to the cerebellum

“我去吃点东西好吗？”在过去几个小时的某个时候，这个问题可能会出现在你的脑海中。我们直接朝着目标前进的能力，以及规范这些行动的激励性决定，几乎定义了我们生活的方方面面。然而，理解这些信号仍然是神经科学的核心挑战。此外，这一知识对于开发神经退行性疾病和精神障碍的新疗法至关重要，在这些疾病中，这些过程发生故障，如帕金森氏症、强迫症和抑郁症。最近的证据发现，参与运动和动机学习的两个主要大脑中枢--小脑和基底神经节的多巴胺能区--之间存在新的联系。这一发现很重要，因为尽管这些大脑区域涉及相关功能，但之前一直认为它们是独立工作的。因此，揭示这些新发现的连接的功能可能是理解运动是如何产生的以及我们为什么选择运动的关键。为了解决这些基本问题，该项目将使用最先进的活体脑成像、动物行为和解剖学技术，结合计算模型来研究基底神经节和小脑之间的联系的功能作用。我们将使用病毒追踪策略来揭示所涉及的神经元的身份和性质，然后使用成像技术和光/化学发生策略来研究它们在不同类型的行为中的活动和作用。

"Shall I go and get something to eat?" At some point in the past few hours, this question may have crossed your mind. Our ability to move directedly towards our goals, and the motivational decisions that regulate these movements, define almost every aspect of our lives. However, understanding these signals remains a central challenge in neuroscience. Furthermore, this knowledge is critical for developing new therapies for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders in which these processes malfunction, such as Parkinson's, OCD, and depression. Recent evidence has uncovered new connections between two major brain centres involved in movement and motivational learning, the cerebellum and dopaminergic regions of the basal ganglia. This discovery is important, because although these brain areas are involved in related functions, it has previously been thought that they work independently. Therefore, revealing the function of these newly discovered connections could hold a key to understanding how movements are generated and why we choose to move. To tackle these fundamental questions, this project will use state of the art in vivo brain imaging, animal behaviour, and anatomical techniques, combined with computational models, to investigate the functional role of connections between the basal ganglia and cerebellum. We will use viral tracing strategies to uncover the identity and nature of the neurons involved and then use imaging techniques and opto/chemogenetic strategies to investigate their activity and role during different types of behaviour.