Neural dynamics and circuitry underlying initiation of specific actions

Animals engage the environment by performing a variety of movement sequences that can often be categorized as specific actions. The ability to perform specific actions promotes the organism's ability to adapt to the environment. How the brain selects and generates specific actions is poorly understood. Neural circuits involving the basal ganglia is thought to play a role in action selection and initiation. Basal ganglia circuits are active during movement, but it is unclear how inputs from other brain regions influence basal ganglia circuitry as well as the type of action to perform. Here, I propose to characterize and test the functional significance of brain regions that send signals to the basal ganglia in terms of their role in the initiation of specific actions. To achieve this, I will combine objective approach to classifying specific actions with calcium activity imaging in freely behaving mice. Along with using optogenetics to perturb neural activities, I hope to provide a clearer picture of how neural activities relate to the initiation of specific actions. Understanding how specific actions are selected and initiated may inform ways to treat human movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease.