Objective The drive for rewards controls almost every aspect of our behavior, from stereotypic reflexive behaviors to complex voluntary action. It is therefore not surprising that the symptoms of neurological disorders that interrupt reward processing, such as those stemming from drug-abuse and depression, include deficits in the capacity to make even simple movements. Accordingly, how do rewards drive and shape movements? The brain uses two major subcortical networks to drive behavior: the basal ganglia and the cerebellum. Both areas are essential for the control of movement as damage to either structure leads to severe motor disabilities. Research on the basal ganglia has highlighted their importance in the control of reward-driven behavior-but how the reward information interacts with sensorimotor signals to drive the motor periphery is unknown. By contrast, research on the cerebellum has focused primarily on how sensory error signals are used to optimize motor commands but has mostly ignored the modulatory factors that influence behavior, such as reward. My goal is to unify research on the basal ganglia and cerebellum in order to understand how the computations underlying the influence of reward on action are implemented in the brain. I hypothesize that rewards drive and shape the motor commands in both subcortical networks, albeit with differing behavioral functions. While in the basal ganglia, information about reward is used to mediate selection between multiple actions; I predict that, in the cerebellum, reward potentiates movements to drive more accurate behavior. I will use the monkey smooth pursuit eye movement system as a powerful model motor system to study the neural mechanisms by which reward influences motor processing. I will combine the use of novel behavioral paradigms together with novel application of neural recording and optogenetic stimulation in primates to probe activity of neurons in the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologymammalogyprimatologymedical and health sciencesbasic medicineneurology Keywords Eye movements basal ganglia cerebellum Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2017-STG - ERC Starting Grant Call for proposal ERC-2017-STG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-STG - Starting Grant Host institution THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM Net EU contribution € 1 570 000,00 Address EDMOND J SAFRA CAMPUS GIVAT RAM 91904 Jerusalem Israel See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 570 000,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM Israel Net EU contribution € 1 570 000,00 Address EDMOND J SAFRA CAMPUS GIVAT RAM 91904 Jerusalem See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 570 000,00
