Project description
A closer look at how neural circuits control movement
All movements require coordinated actions within space and time. At the heart of that process is the cerebellum, which receives information from the sensory systems, the spinal cord and other parts of the brain and then regulates motor movements. The EU-funded LOCOLEARN project aims to understand how that remarkable coordination is achieved by neural circuits controlling movement. The project will help bridge levels of analysis to understand how cerebellar learning mechanisms convert behaviorally relevant sensorimotor error signals into calibration signals, ensuring accurate and coordinated movements in space and time.
Objective
Every movement we make requires us to coordinate our actions precisely in space and time. This proposal aims to understand how that remarkable coordination is achieved by neural circuits controlling movement. The cerebellum plays a critical role in keeping movements calibrated and coordinated, and it is thought to do this in part through a motor learning process in which predictable perturbations of movement are gradually compensated. Cerebellum-dependent forms of motor learning have been identified for a variety of behaviors, including locomotion, and locomotor learning is used as a rehabilitative therapy in human patients. We recently established locomotor learning in mice, using a custom-built, transparent split-belt treadmill that controls the speeds of the two sides of the body independently and allows for high-resolution behavioral readouts. Here, we will combine quantitative analysis of locomotor behavior with genetic circuit dissection to answer two fundamental questions: How are cerebellar outputs read out by downstream circuits, to calibrate spatial and temporal components of movement? and How are instructive signals for spatial and temporal learning encoded by cerebellar inputs? Specifically, we will: 1) Use circuit tracing combined with manipulation of specific cerebellar outputs to identify downstream pathways for spatial and temporal locomotor learning, 2) Investigate the role of error signals for cerebellar learning via optogenetic perturbation of climbing fiber inputs to the cerebellum, and 3) Image complex spike activity from populations of Purkinje cells during locomotion and learning, to ask how spatial and temporal error signals are encoded within the cerebellum. These studies will allow us to bridge levels of analysis to understand how cerebellar learning mechanisms convert behaviorally-relevant sensorimotor error signals into calibration signals that ensure accurate and coordinated movements in space and time for a wide range of behaviors.
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-COG - Consolidator 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-2019-COG
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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.
1400-038 LISBOA
Portugal
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.