Objective
Imagine a huge elephant rushing towards you; your first instinct is – run! This innate escape response is triggered by visual cues, here, a fast expanding object, and crucially depends on the extraction of few relevant features. The processing of visual information starts in the retina where more than 40 types of retinal ganglion cells extract salient features from the visual scene. Information about these features is sent to downstream brain areas. A central node where retinal signals are integrated is the superior colliculus. This evolutionary-conserved brain area controls innate behaviors, directly linking the outputs of the retina with the activation of motor outputs and behavior. In mice, escape behaviors can be initiated upon activation of a single cell type of superior colliculus, wide-field neurons. They receive inputs from a subset of retinal ganglion cell types and respond preferentially to two distinct visual stimuli, slow moving dots and quickly expanding disks, each known to trigger defensive behaviors. However, the computational strategy used by collicular neurons to process feature-selective retinal inputs remains unknown.
In the proposed project, I will identify the mechanisms by which retinal features are integrated in collicular wide-field neurons. I will combine transsynaptic viral circuit tracing with two-photon calcium imaging to identify and characterize the feature-selective inputs from retinal ganglion cells (in-vitro) and functional outputs of wide-field neurons (in-vivo). The results of these experiments will allow me to deduce how the output features of wide-field neurons arise from the retinal inputs using computational modeling and neural decoding techniques. This will reveal the circuit and computational principles by which retinal feature-selectivity drives complex circuit function in central brain regions.
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.
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry alkaline earth metals
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine ophthalmology
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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.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017
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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.
9052 ZWIJNAARDE - GENT
Belgium
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.