Integration of visual information and behavioral modulation in the superior colliculus

项目总结（见说明）： 并行地提取不同的视觉特征，以便稍后沿着视觉特征组合和调制。 途径。在早期可以发现两条平行的通路，视网膜的投射指向视网膜， 背外侧膝状体核，其靶向皮质区域，和上级丘（SC），其靶向皮质区域。 在其他建筑物中，有一个项目。这两种途径通常被称为主要的 和次级途径，并且是相互连接的，特别是在SC水平上。 重要的是，SC中的视觉输入集中在一种形态和分子定义的细胞类型上： 宽场垂直细胞（WFV）。WFV细胞树突状分支取样大部分视野 我们最近发现，这些细胞受到运动的调节， 大脑区域。它们的形态和向枕的投射在物种间是保守的。这些 观察将WFV细胞作为视觉和非视觉信息的关键整合者。 为了了解WFV细胞如何整合信息，研究人员将进行因果实验， 不同来源的输入将在小鼠（小家鼠）中操作，而WFV细胞的活性 将使用钙成像进行评估。这将是随后的连通性的识别 WFV在另一种动物模型中，树（Tupaia belangerii），这是高度视觉和密切相关的 灵长类动物。这将解决跨物种脑回路的保护问题，从而开辟新的 翻译工作的通道。为了解决现有的关于整体视觉反应的差异， SC，WFV细胞的视觉反应将在树中表征。这种特殊的细胞类型将 使用光遗传学方法和电生理学记录分离，从而允许 这些细胞的视觉反应偏好的表征。该项目将产生令人信服的结果 关于视觉系统中视觉信息的整合，允许直接比较 在两个物种中定义相同的细胞类型，并揭示内部状态如何塑造视觉反应， SC.

PROJECT SUMMARY (See instructions): Distinct visual features are extracted in parallel to be later combined and modulated along the visual pathways. Two parallel pathways can be found early on, with projections from the retina targeting the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, which targets cortical areas, and the superior colliculus (SC), which projects to the pulvinar among other structures. These two pathways are often referred to as the primary and the secondary pathway respectively and are inter-connected, notably at the level of the SC. Importantly, visual inputs in the SC converge onto one morphologically and molecularly defined cell type: the wide-field vertical cells (WFV). WFV cells dendritic arborizations sample a large part of the visual field and we have recently shown that these cells are modulated by locomotion and receive inputs from multiple brain region. Their morphology and projection to the pulvinar are conserved across species. These observations place WFV cells as key integrators of visual and non-visual information. To understand how WFV cells integrate information, the investigator will perform causal experiments in which different sources of inputs will be manipulated in mice (Mus musculus) while the activity of WFV cells will be assessed using calcium imaging. This will be followed by the identification of the connectivity of the WFV in another animal model, the tree shrew (Tupaia belangerii), which is highly visual and closely related to primates. This will address the conservation of the brain-wide circuit across species, thus opening new alleys for translational work. To resolve existing discrepancy concerning the overall visual responses in the SC, the visual responses of WFV cells will be characterized in tree shrews. This particular cell-type will be isolated using an optogenetic approach and electrophysiological recordings, thus allowing for the characterization of visual response preference of these cells. This project will yield compelling results regarding the integration of visual information across the visual system, allow a direct comparison of the same defined cell-type across two species, and reveal how internal states shape visual responses in the SC.