Project description
Understanding the mechanisms of flexible decision-making in the mice brain
Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the FLEXNEUROCOMP project will study decision variables at the behavioural and neural levels to understand the brain switching flexibility between them. The research will combine mice behavioural models with multiple decision variables and models of dynamical systems, employing electrophysiology and optogenetics to record and manipulate neuronal ensembles across multiple brain regions. The project aims to test the general hypothesis that the premotor cortex represents a reservoir of decision variables and flexibly routes the particular decision variable to motor regions. The results will provide an understanding of the neural mechanisms of individual variations in decision-making and the deviation of actions from normal behaviour, explaining diversity in human mental health.
Objective
Imagine that you have just rung at a doorbell and no one has answered the door. Is there anybody home? How many times should you ring? One simple solution is just to ring several more times and wait. Yet, to save time and make sure that no one is home, you could also consider whether there is a light inside the house or whether there is a car parked in front. Although such situations are ubiquitous in our daily life, relatively little is known about how different decisions are implemented in the brain and how they flexibly inform behavior. This proposal directly aims to characterize decision variables both at the behavioral and neural levels to understand how the brain flexibly switches between them. We will combine sophisticated mice behaviors that accommodate multiple decision variables with innovative models of dynamical systems, and leverage the latest progress in electrophysiology and optogenetics to record and manipulate large ensembles of neurons simultaneously across multiple brain regions. This work will test the overarching hypothesis that the premotor cortex, thought to implement the intention to act, is a reservoir of decision variables that flexibly routes the employed decision variable to motor regions. Our highly multidisciplinary team, which consists of the researcher with productive records in systems neuroscience, the supervisor who is a specialist in cognitive neuropsychology, and the secondment supervisor who is a renowned theoretical neuroscientist, is well armed to successfully carry this project. Our results should deliver a new conceptual framework for understanding adaptive behaviors and their neural bases. This project will also provide a direct window into the neural mechanisms underlying individual variations in decision making and how actions may depart from a healthy behavior when erroneous or maladaptive strategies are used, of relevance for explaining diversity in human behavior and mental health.
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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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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.
75794 Paris
France
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.