Adaptive behaviour

…Study distributed brain dynamics and adaptive behaviour using recordings from thousands of neurons across multiple regions.

Neural circuits process temporal intervals during adaptive behaviour. However, it is unclear how temporal information enables the brain to create causal maps and predict future events. While the cerebellum is well-known to support sub-second intervals for motor control, the ability to track environmental changes in the range of seconds to minutes is thought to be supported mostly by cerebral areas. We hypothesized that the cerebellum also contributes to behavioural control on a supra-second timescale by interacting with the neocortex through cerebro-cerebellar loops. Using a supra-second time

Our work concerns the general problem of adaptive behaviour in response to predatory threats, and of the neural mechanisms underlying a choice between strategies. When faced with a threat, an animal must decide whether to freeze, reducing its chances of being noticed, or to flee to the safety of a refuge. Animals from fish to primates choose between these two alternatives when confronted by an attacking predator, a choice that largely depends on the context in which the threat occurs. Recent work has made strides identifying the pre-motor circuits, and their inputs, which control freezing beha