Project description
Insight into how the nervous system orchestrates specific movements
Motor control entails a series of commands that commence in the brain motor centres and are executed by the spinal cord. In this complex process the brainstem plays an intermediary role between the brain and the spinal cord. Recently, distinct brainstem neural populations have been identified to carry out specific body movements. The EU-funded InterAct project is interested to understand how brainstem neurons interact with the motor system to generate diverse movements. Researchers will employ a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate the underlying circuit mechanisms that recruit specific brainstem neurons during desired actions.
Objective
Understanding how neuronal circuits regulate the enormous repertoire of movements is a key outstanding question in neuroscience. Neurons contributing to execution and learning of body movements are distributed throughout the nervous system. Control of body movements entails the engagement of connected brain motor centers to generate action commands, providing instructions for execution to the spinal cord. The brainstem as focus of this proposal represents an essential intermediary between upper planning and spinal executive motor circuits. Recent technological advances have led to the identification of brainstem neurons regulating diverse forms of body movement, including locomotion and skilled forelimb movements, both engaging limbs but for very distinct purposes. The goal of this project is to understand how brainstem populations involved in specific body movements are endowed with their behavior-specific fingerprints through interactions within the broader motor system. We aim to determine how key synaptic inputs to specific brainstem neurons shape their activity patterns in synchrony with the regulated behavior. We hypothesize that the emergence of action-specific neuronal ensembles in the brainstem requires control by their driver, gating and modulatory elements, with the function to promote the recruitment of specific brainstem neurons during desired actions and to suppress them when no or alternative actions are planned. We build on our know-how on brainstem neurons and use sophisticated combinatorial viral-genetic targeting strategies, state of the art neuronal recording and activity-pattern modifying technologies, combined with precise quantitative behavioral readouts in mice to address this question. Together, our project will elucidate circuit mechanisms by which brainstem neurons interact in the motor system to control the generation of body movements, thereby uncovering principles of how the nervous system generates diverse actions.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2020-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
4056 BASEL
Switzerland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.