CAREER: Distributed spatial neural dynamics

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Brain dynamics – fluctuations in activity over time – are tightly coordinated across brain regions, and these coupled dynamics may underlie many perceptual and cognitive processes. Brain activity varies not only over time but also in space, taking the form of waves and other spatially extended patterns that evolve dynamically. However, whether these spatial dynamics are also coordinated across brain regions, similar to the way temporal patterns are, is unknown. In this proposal new tools will be leveraged for large-scale spatial measurements and manipulations of neural activity to answer this question. This work will have impact on our understanding of brain activity underlying perception and behavior, and may yield insights important for design of next-generation artificial intelligence systems. Software, developed for this project will bring large-scale systems neuroscience to classrooms in low-income settings, and will democratize training and access for scientists using our novel technologies. To decipher the coordination of spatial dynamics between cortical and subcortical brain regions, a combination of widefield calcium imaging in GCaMP7 trangenic mice coupled with large-scale electrophysiology in deep brain structures using Neuropixels 2.0 probes, will be used. This work will take advantage of novel electrode arrays developed by this laboratory, and is suitable for measuring the spatial pattern of neural activity in thalamus, striatum, midbrain, and pons. In addition to recordings, the mechanisms underlying spatially coordinated activity will be measured via a combination of mechanical and optogenetic neural manipulations. Finally, we will test a hypothesis for the role of propagating neural activity in the alpha (3-6 Hz) frequency range in behavior and perception in mice. Together these experiments will uncover the structure of shared activity patterns across brain regions and have implications for the computational functions of these regions and for their interactions. Complementing these studies, software will be developed to bring large-scale systems neuroscience to classrooms in low-income settings, increasing training opportunities and access for scientists using our new technology developed in this laboratory. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.