Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying behaviour and learning in mammals

弄清哺乳动物大脑中的行为是如何产生和调节的，是现代神经科学面临的主要挑战之一。哺乳动物的大脑是复杂的结构，调节着复杂的行为任务。为了能够将大脑中的细胞和分子过程与特定的行为任务联系起来，我们使用了一个建立良好的简单模型——惊吓反应。惊吓反应是由一条较短的初级通路介导的，它们很容易被量化，并且受到感觉门控机制、情绪和不同的学习过程的调节。这使得惊吓成为研究潜在细胞和分子机制的完美模型。

It is one of the major challenges for modern Neuroscience to find out how behaviour is generated and modulated in the mammalian brain. Mammalian brains are complex structures mediating complex behavioural tasks. In order to be able to connect cellular and molecular processes within the brain to a specific behavioural task we use a well established simple model - the startle response. Startle responses are mediated by a short primary pathway, they can easily be quantified and they are modulated by sensory gating mechanisms, emotions and different learning processes. This turns startle into a perfect model for studying underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms.