Inhibitory neurons in the superior colliculus mediate selection of spatially-directed movements.

ABSTRACT: Decision making is a cognitive process that mediates behaviors critical for survival. Choosing spatial targets is an experimentally-tractable form of decision making that depends on the midbrain superior colliculus (SC). While physiological and computational studies have uncovered the functional topographic organization of the SC, the role of specific SC cell types in spatial choice is unknown. Here, we leveraged behavior, optogenetics, neural recordings and modeling to directly examine the contribution of GABAergic SC neurons to the selection of opposing spatial targets. Although GABAergic SC neurons comprise a heterogeneous population with local and long-range projections, our results demonstrate that GABAergic SC neurons do not locally suppress premotor output, suggesting that functiona

SUBMITTER: Essig J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8196039 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature