MultiSensDepthPercep: Midbrain Circuits Underlying Multisensory Depth Perception

MultiSensDepthPercep：多感官深度知觉背后的中脑电路

• 批准号: EP/X020924/1
• 负责人: Maria Iacaruso
• 金额: $ 164.71万
• 依托单位: The Francis Crick Institute
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FX020924%2F1
• 关键词: MultiSensDepthPercep; Midbrain; Circuits; Underlying; Multisensory

In order to generate appropriate responses to external events, living organisms often need to combine sensory information of multiple modalities. Specific brain areas weigh and combine this information to form a precise representation of the outside world and instigate optimised behavioural outputs. The superior colliculus (SC) is an evolutionary conserved structure, where sensory inputs from multiple modalities are integrated in the same coordinate system to trigger orienting and escape behaviours. The representation of space in the horizontal and vertical axes in the SC has been well characterised, however, the neural bases for judging the third dimension - source distance - are less well understood. The difference between the velocities of light and sound introduces a distance dependent lag for auditory signals with respect to visual information. Visual-auditory neurons in the SC are sensitive to this delay. We will study the multisensory three dimensional representation of space in anatomically defined regions of the SC by performing large-scale neuronal recordings. We will investigate the network mechanisms underlying spatiotemporal multisensory integration using optogenetic and functional circuit tracing approaches. We will then determine how animals combine audio-visual information to estimate the location of a threat and to guide the selection of defensive responses, such as freezing and scape. Finally, we will determine multisensory cellular computations in SC neurons using two-photon calcium and voltage imaging of dendritic spines and their parent dendrites. This multiscale approach will reveal the mechanism underlying the multisensory representation of three dimensional space and how the estimation of threat location is used to guide behavioural responses.

为了产生对外部事件的适当回应，生物通常需要结合多种方式的感官信息。特定的大脑区域称重并结合此信息，以形成外界的精确表示，并促进优化的行为输出。上丘（SC）是一种进化保守的结构，其中多种模态的感觉输入集成在同一坐标系中以触发方向和逃脱行为。 SC中水平和垂直轴中空间的表示已得到很好的特征，但是，判断第三维的神经碱基 - 源距离 - 不太了解。光和声音速度之间的差异引入了相对于视觉信息的听觉信号距离滞后滞后。 SC中的视觉原理神经元对此延迟很敏感。我们将通过执行大规模的神经元记录来研究SC的解剖区域中空间的多感觉三维表示。我们将使用光遗传学和功能电路跟踪方法研究时空多感官整合的网络机制。然后，我们将确定动物如何结合视听信息，以估计威胁的位置，并指导选择防御反应（例如冻结和spape）。最后，我们将使用两光钙钙和树突状棘的电压成像及其母体树突来确定SC神经元中的多感觉细胞计算。这种多尺度方法将揭示三维空间的多感官表示的基础机制，以及如何使用威胁位置的估计来指导行为响应。