Project acronym HigherVision
Project The function of higher-order cortical and thalamic pathways during vision
Researcher (PI) Sonja Birgit Hofer
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAT BASEL
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2013-StG
Summary When interacting with the environment we depend on our perception of the world around us. Visual perception relies on information flow from the eye to the visual cortex, where it is relayed and transformed via a series of cortical processing stages. Most research so far has focused on feedforward processing of visual information. However, it is increasingly obvious that perception crucially depends on how sensory input is interpreted in the context of an animal’s behavioural state, goals and actions. These non-sensory signals may be relayed by prominent long-range projections from higher-order cortical and thalamic areas, whose contribution to vision remains largely unexplored. Recent advances in imaging techniques and genetic tools for visualizing and manipulating neuronal activity enable us for the first time to study directly what information is conveyed through these major alternative visual pathways in the behaving animal and how they influence the processing of feedforward sensory information to allow us to actively perceive and interpret the environment.
Using state-of-the-art methodology combining in vivo imaging, electrophysiology, animal behaviour, virtual reality, genetic tools and targeted optogenetics using advanced optics, we will determine the functional role of (i) cortical feedback and (ii) higher-order thalamic signals during cortical processing of visual information in the behaving mouse. Specifically, we will investigate what information these projections convey to the visual cortex in anaesthetized and awake mice, whether they provide signals mediating the increased saliency of behaviourally relevant stimuli, and whether they enable the integration of sensory and motor information during locomotion and navigation. Together, the proposed work will answer fundamental questions about the role of these important but poorly understood visual pathways in active processing of visual input as animals interact with their environment.
Summary
When interacting with the environment we depend on our perception of the world around us. Visual perception relies on information flow from the eye to the visual cortex, where it is relayed and transformed via a series of cortical processing stages. Most research so far has focused on feedforward processing of visual information. However, it is increasingly obvious that perception crucially depends on how sensory input is interpreted in the context of an animal’s behavioural state, goals and actions. These non-sensory signals may be relayed by prominent long-range projections from higher-order cortical and thalamic areas, whose contribution to vision remains largely unexplored. Recent advances in imaging techniques and genetic tools for visualizing and manipulating neuronal activity enable us for the first time to study directly what information is conveyed through these major alternative visual pathways in the behaving animal and how they influence the processing of feedforward sensory information to allow us to actively perceive and interpret the environment.
Using state-of-the-art methodology combining in vivo imaging, electrophysiology, animal behaviour, virtual reality, genetic tools and targeted optogenetics using advanced optics, we will determine the functional role of (i) cortical feedback and (ii) higher-order thalamic signals during cortical processing of visual information in the behaving mouse. Specifically, we will investigate what information these projections convey to the visual cortex in anaesthetized and awake mice, whether they provide signals mediating the increased saliency of behaviourally relevant stimuli, and whether they enable the integration of sensory and motor information during locomotion and navigation. Together, the proposed work will answer fundamental questions about the role of these important but poorly understood visual pathways in active processing of visual input as animals interact with their environment.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 194 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31
Project acronym iTools4MC
Project Hypervalent Iodine Reagents: A Tool Kit for Accessing Molecular Complexity
Researcher (PI) Jérôme Waser
Host Institution (HI) ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE5, ERC-2013-StG
Summary "Against the backdrop of an ever-expanding world population and increasingly limited resources, progress in chemistry, and organic chemistry in particular, is essential for the future of humanity. In the last century, transition metal chemistry has completely changed the field of synthesis. Nevertheless, it is often based on rare and toxic metals. Traditional organic chemistry, on the other hand, makes use of cheap and innocuous organic molecules but at the cost of more limited reactivity. Herein, we propose to design new hypervalent iodine reagents, which will combine the high reactivity of metals with the lower toxicity and cost of main group elements while opening new horizons for the synthesis of organic molecules.
The most important impact of the project will be to accelerate the innovative circle of progress, especially for research in medicinal chemistry. An extremely useful toolbox, an ""iKit"", will become available for medicinal chemists. The optimal outcome would be a ""magic iodine bullet"", which the chemist can use to install a chemical functional group on an organic molecule of his or her choice.
An added impact of the project will be greater understanding of the reactivity of hypervalent iodine reagents and their interplay with metal catalysts, leading to unforeseen applications. This understanding can lead to the development of reactions catalytic in iodine, which can be useful not only for research, but also for the larger scale production of chemicals.
Based on the successful outcome of this project, an unlimited number of organic transformations will be possible in the future. Applications will not be solely limited to synthetic chemistry, as there exists the possibility for emergent development of other well-defined reagents tailored to meet the needs of scientists in chemical biology and materials science."
Summary
"Against the backdrop of an ever-expanding world population and increasingly limited resources, progress in chemistry, and organic chemistry in particular, is essential for the future of humanity. In the last century, transition metal chemistry has completely changed the field of synthesis. Nevertheless, it is often based on rare and toxic metals. Traditional organic chemistry, on the other hand, makes use of cheap and innocuous organic molecules but at the cost of more limited reactivity. Herein, we propose to design new hypervalent iodine reagents, which will combine the high reactivity of metals with the lower toxicity and cost of main group elements while opening new horizons for the synthesis of organic molecules.
The most important impact of the project will be to accelerate the innovative circle of progress, especially for research in medicinal chemistry. An extremely useful toolbox, an ""iKit"", will become available for medicinal chemists. The optimal outcome would be a ""magic iodine bullet"", which the chemist can use to install a chemical functional group on an organic molecule of his or her choice.
An added impact of the project will be greater understanding of the reactivity of hypervalent iodine reagents and their interplay with metal catalysts, leading to unforeseen applications. This understanding can lead to the development of reactions catalytic in iodine, which can be useful not only for research, but also for the larger scale production of chemicals.
Based on the successful outcome of this project, an unlimited number of organic transformations will be possible in the future. Applications will not be solely limited to synthetic chemistry, as there exists the possibility for emergent development of other well-defined reagents tailored to meet the needs of scientists in chemical biology and materials science."
Max ERC Funding
1 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-01-01, End date: 2018-12-31
Project acronym SALIENSY
Project Mapping the synaptic circuits for salience
Researcher (PI) Manuel Mameli
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITE DE LAUSANNE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2013-StG
Summary An unpredicted salient event – rewarding or aversive – triggers a rapid emotional reaction that has profound impact in making a future choice. The early neurobiological processes behind it are matter of intense study. However, the hierarchical anatomical and functional organization as well as the cellular mechanisms underlying acute perception of reward and aversive events remains unknown. Intriguingly, salience experience alters the activity in the medial globus pallidus of the basal ganglia and the lateral habenula (LHb) as well as in dopamine and serotonin neurons. Here, I hypothesize that rewarding and aversive experiences require the medial globus pallidus-LHb pathway, and rapid cellular adaptations in LHb to orchestrate dopamine and serotonin systems. To test this my specific aims are: 1 - Anatomical-functional circuit dissection to map LHb inputs from the medial globus pallidus, and LHb outputs to the midbrain using viral-based mapping 2 – Assess the effect of salience (reward, aversion) on the LHb using synaptic physiology and optogenetics and 3 - Causally link LHb activity with behaviours modelling reward/aversion to probe LHb function at the network level using in vivo electrophysiology and optogenetics. I propose to unravel early cellular processes fundamental to “pursue a reward, escape a danger”, which is relevant for encoding rewarding and aversive stimuli in health and neuropsychiatry (i.e. addiction, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders).
Summary
An unpredicted salient event – rewarding or aversive – triggers a rapid emotional reaction that has profound impact in making a future choice. The early neurobiological processes behind it are matter of intense study. However, the hierarchical anatomical and functional organization as well as the cellular mechanisms underlying acute perception of reward and aversive events remains unknown. Intriguingly, salience experience alters the activity in the medial globus pallidus of the basal ganglia and the lateral habenula (LHb) as well as in dopamine and serotonin neurons. Here, I hypothesize that rewarding and aversive experiences require the medial globus pallidus-LHb pathway, and rapid cellular adaptations in LHb to orchestrate dopamine and serotonin systems. To test this my specific aims are: 1 - Anatomical-functional circuit dissection to map LHb inputs from the medial globus pallidus, and LHb outputs to the midbrain using viral-based mapping 2 – Assess the effect of salience (reward, aversion) on the LHb using synaptic physiology and optogenetics and 3 - Causally link LHb activity with behaviours modelling reward/aversion to probe LHb function at the network level using in vivo electrophysiology and optogenetics. I propose to unravel early cellular processes fundamental to “pursue a reward, escape a danger”, which is relevant for encoding rewarding and aversive stimuli in health and neuropsychiatry (i.e. addiction, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders).
Max ERC Funding
1 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-03-01, End date: 2020-02-29
