The cerebellum has been implicated in a number of nonmotor mental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, and addiction. However, its contribution to these disorders is not well ...understood. In mice, we found that the cerebellum sends direct excitatory projections to the ventral tegmental area (VTA), one of the brain regions that processes and encodes reward. Optogenetic activation of the cerebello-VTA projections was rewarding and, in a three-chamber social task, these projections were more active when the animal explored the social chamber. Intriguingly, activity in the cerebello-VTA pathway was required for the mice to show social preference in this task. Our data delineate a major, previously unappreciated role for the cerebellum in controlling the reward circuitry and social behavior.
Sensorimotor integration is a general term to describe how task-specific motor output is generated from the selective and rapid processing of sensory and motor information. The rodent vibrissal ...(whisker) system is an important model for the study of sensorimotor integration and active tactile sensing. This research uses the rodent vibrissal system as a model to study sensorimotor integration at the level of the brainstem. Angular tuning is a property of whisker-sensitive neurons that describes the way a neuron responds when a single whisker is stimulated in a preferred direction. While this property can partially inform how individual whisker deflections shape the neural response to multi-whisker deflections, the study of global motion can sometimes be more ethologically relevant to the type of stimulation that a rodent experiences across the array. Specifically, my thesis investigates how neurons of the trigeminal brainstem encode stimulus speed and the extent to which they exhibit tuning for the direction of global motion. Direction of global motion tuning could aid in whisker-mediated orientating behaviors. The thesis reviews the literature on speed, angular tuning, and direction of motion tuning, and describes novel experiments to assess speed and direction of global motion tuning. Experiments on the vibrissal system often require highly repeatable stimulation of multiple whiskers and the ability to vary stimulation parameters across a wide range. The stimulator must also be easy to position and adjust, while providing real time information about whisker contact. Developing a multi-whisker stimulation system that meets these criteria remains challenging. We describe a novel multi-whisker stimulator to assess neural sensitivity to the direction of global motion. The device can generate repeatable, linear sweeps of tactile stimulation across the whisker array in any direction and with a range of speeds. A fiber optic beam break detects the interval of whisker contact as the stimulator passes through the array. We demonstrate the device’s function and utility by recording from a small number of multi-whisker-responsive neurons in the trigeminal brainstem. Neurons had higher firing rates in response to faster stimulation speeds; some also exhibited strong direction-of-motion tuning. The stimulator complements more standard piezoelectric stimulators, which offer precise control but typically stimulate only single whiskers, require whisker trimming, and travel through small angles. It also complements non-contact methods of stimulation such as air-puffs and electromagnetic-induced stimulation. Tradeoffs include stimulation speed and frequency, and the inability to stimulate whiskers individually. The stimulator could be used—in either anesthetized or awake, head-fixed preparations—as an approach to studying global motion selectivity of multi-whisker sensitive neurons at multiple levels of the vibrissal-trigeminal system.
The rodent vibrissal (whisker) systcnsorimotor integration and active tactile sensing. Experiments on the vibrissal system often require highly repeatable stimulation of multiple whiskers and the ...ability to vary stimulation parameters across a wide range. The stimulator must also be easy to position and adjust. Developing a multi-whisker stimulation system that meets these criteria remains challenging.
We describe a novel multi-whisker stimulator to assess neural selectivity for the direction of global motion. The device can generate repeatable, linear sweeps of tactile stimulation across the whisker array in any direction and with a range of speeds. A fiber optic beam break detects the interval of whisker contact as the stimulator passes through the array.
We demonstrate the device’s function and utility by recording from a small number of multi-whisker-responsive neurons in the trigeminal brainstem. Neurons had higher firing rates in response to faster stimulation speeds; some also exhibited strong direction-of-motion tuning.
The stimulator complements more standard piezo-electric stimulators, which offer precise control but typically stimulate only single whiskers, require whisker trimming, and travel through small angles. It also complements non-contact methods of stimulation such as air-puffs and electromagnetic-induced stimulation. Tradeoffs include stimulation speed and frequency, and the inability to stimulate whiskers individually.
The stimulator could be used – in either anesthetized or awake, head-fixed preparations – as an approach to studying global motion selectivity of multi-whisker sensitive neurons at multiple levels of the vibrissal-trigeminal system.
•Repeatable stimulation of the rodent whisker array with controllable speeds, directions.•Fiber optic sensing extracts durations of contact with the whisker array.•Multi-whisker-sensitive brainstem neurons tuned for speed; some for global motion.•Approach could be extended to closed-loop stimulation in awake, head-fixed animals.•Open-source, open-hardware design can be reconfigured for other animal models.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Load filters
No result was selected!
Please select the results that you wish to export.
The search was successfully saved.
Editing
The search could not be saved.
Saved searches can be viewed in the list My searches.
The changes made to the saved search were saved successfully.
Save search
Shelf entry
No result was selected!
Adding material to shelf was successful.
Adding material to shelf was partly successful.
Adding material to shelf failed completely.
It was not necessary to add the material to the shelf.
Please select the results that you want to put on shelf!
On shelf the following records have been successfully added:
On shelf the following records have been successfully added:
PDF
