Ervan

Team : Sensori-motor Integration and Plasticity
Leader : Daniel Shulz
Supervisor : Valérie Ego-Stengel

The dense connections between the primary sensory cortex (S1) and the primary motor cortex (M1) are hypothesized to play a key role in the establishment and execution of sensorimotor skills. By receiving inputs from different layers of S1, M1 neurons would integrate specific features of tactile information in order to adjust motor control. During my thesis I aim to uncover the role of the long-range projections from S1 towards M1. To this aim, mice will be trained to detect a moving object on their whiskers and perform a whisker movement to report sensation and obtain a reward. The involvement of S1-to-M1 projections will be investigated through chemogenetic tools. In parallel, single-neuron M1 activity will be monitored by two-photon calcium imaging. Overall, this work will help understand the neuronal mechanisms at play in the S1-M1 interaction during sensorimotor learning. In the long term, it could help design novel cortical brain-machine interfaces incorporating somatosensory feedback, by indicating efficient strategies of S1 stimulation.