Neuronal basis for sensorimotor control during zebrafish prey capture behavior

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案的总体目标是揭示感觉运动整合的神经机制。这个目标将通过研究控制精细协调和目标导向斑马鱼行为的神经回路来解决，即捕获猎物。斑马鱼是一种新兴的系统神经科学模型，具有几个显著的实验优势，这些优势的结合在任何其他脊椎动物系统中都是无与伦比的。这些优势包括强大的遗传，透明的光生理，以及在受精一周内形成的多种行为。斑马鱼幼体通过一系列的低角度转身和跟踪游来确定方向，并最终攻击猎物。这种行为是视觉引导的，严重依赖于视觉顶盖的高阶感觉处理。本提案的重点是定义已确定的网状脊髓神经元在猎物捕获中所起的作用。这些神经元位于中脑内侧纵束核（nMLF），相当于哺乳动物的中脑前运动区。nMLF中的神经元接受来自视神经顶盖的直接输入，并具有支配脊髓回路的投射；将nMLF神经元置于参与捕获猎物的感觉和运动系统的交叉点。本提案的目的是测试关于nMLF中不同神经亚群如何在捕获猎物的不同组成部分中将感觉信息转化为运动输出的特定假设。这些假设将通过行为分析、体内钙成像和新开发的激活和沉默离散大脑区域的遗传方法的组合来验证。这项研究意义重大，因为它将提高我们对目标导向的脊椎动物行为的认识，其机制尚不清楚。这项研究也可能建立表征斑马鱼其他神经回路的方法。公共卫生相关性：绘制与行为相关的神经回路图谱提供了一个框架，在这个框架中，我们可以理解神经疾病背后的基因和环境因素是如何产生其行为影响的。考虑到脊椎动物之间的高度保守性，电路映射加上斑马鱼中大量的遗传数据和工具，应该为深入了解人类神经系统疾病提供一个强有力的组合。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The broad goal of this proposal is to uncover neural mechanisms underlying sensorimotor integration. This goal will be addressed by investigating the neural circuitry that controls a finely coordinated and goal- directed zebrafish behavior, the capture of prey. Zebrafish are an emerging model for systems neuroscience and possess several significant experimental advantages, the combination of which is unparalleled in any other vertebrate system-. These advantages include powerful genetics, transparency for optophysiology, and a diverse behavioral repertoire that develops within a week of fertilization. Larval zebrafish use a series of low angle turns and tracking swims to orient toward and ultimately strike at their prey. This behavior is visually guided and relies heavily on high-order sensory processing by the optic tectum. The focus of this proposal is to define the role of identified reticulospinal neurons that have been implicated in prey capture. These neurons reside in the midbrain nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (nMLF), the teleost equivalent to the mammalian midbrain premotor region. Neurons in the nMLF receive direct input from the optic tectum and have projections that innervate spinal circuits; placing nMLF neurons at the intersection of sensory and motor systems involved in prey capture. The Aims in this proposal are designed to test specific hypotheses about how distinct neural subpopulations in the nMLF translate sensory information into motor output during the different components of prey capture. These hypotheses will be tested using a combination of behavioral analyses, in vivo calcium imaging and newly developed genetic approaches for activating and silencing discrete brain regions. The research is significant because it will advance our knowledge of a goal-directed vertebrate behavior, the mechanisms of which are poorly understood. The research is also likely to establish methodologies for characterizing other neural circuits in zebrafish. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Mapping neural circuits involved in behavior provides a framework in which to understand how genes and environmental factors that underlie neurological diseases produce their behavioral effects. Given the high degree of conservation across vertebrates, circuit mapping coupled with the vast pool of genetic data and tools in zebrafish should provide a powerful combination for gaining insights into human neurological diseases.