Event Details:
Stanford Neurosciences Institute Seminar Series Presents
Circuit mechanisms underlying sensori-motor integration in mouse
Tianyi Mao, Ph.D
Assistant Scientist, Oregon Health Sciencese University
Host: Aaron Gitler
Abstract
My laboratory is interested in elucidating the circuit mechanisms governing the sensori-motor integration. Specifically, the topic I will cover is to examine the principles governing the neuronal connectivity among the cortex, the thalamus and the striatum, which are essential brain regions for motor control and sensory-motor integration, by using quantitative anatomy, imaging and functional circuit analyses in mouse. Based on high resolution, high throughput tracing/imaging, we identified novel functional sub-regions in the thalamus and the striatum based on their input/output connectivity and I will discuss some parallel circuitry organization principles of the cortico-thalamo-basal ganglia circuits. With the ability to pinpoint the anatomically defined sub-regions, we also uncovered cell type heterogeneity based on quantification of sub-region specific inputs among otherwise homogeneous cell population. The cell type specific and sub-region specific mapping might shed new light on how the cortico-thalamo-basal ganglia circuits achieve their functions.