Neural mechanisms for flexible and goal-directed sensorimotor transformations during decision-making
A hallmark of the mammalian brain is the ability to link relevant external events to specific actions based on internal goals.
In this talk, I will first present recent findings revealing a brain-wide distributed network of areas which learns to transform sensation into action by orthogonalizing movement and deliberation population dynamics. Within the deliberation population dynamics a sparse subset of neurons couple sensory evidence encoding with movement preparatory dynamics.
I will then present work demonstrating that this sensorimotor transformation can be flexibly gated – based on the animals’ internal goals – by a novel functional frontal cortical area (located at the anterior tip of secondary motor cortex). This area exercises cognitive control by clamping striatal population dynamics, to effectively move sensory evidence dynamics in and out of an action generating state based on the animals internal goals.
Together, these findings provide a brain-wide account of how sensation is transformed into action and how this can be flexibly gated through a cortico-striatal clamping mechanism.
Date:
18 November 2024, 14:00 (Monday, 6th week, Michaelmas 2024)
Venue:
Sherrington Library, off Parks Road OX1 3PT
Venue Details:
Sherrington Building
Speaker:
Dr Michael Lohse (Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, UCL)
Organising department:
Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG)
Organiser:
Professor Andrew King (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
events@dpag.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Professor Andrew King (University of Oxford)
Part of:
Neuroscience Theme Guest Speakers (DPAG)
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Hannah Simm
