# Neural Computation for Innate Behaviors in the Superior Colliculus

> **NIH NIH R01** · CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2021 · $378,350

## Abstract

Neural computation for innate behaviors in the superior colliculus
The long-term goal of the proposed research is to understand how the brain makes sense of the onslaught of
sensory data to extract just the few bits of relevant knowledge needed to make a decision. Specifically we will
focus on innate behaviors of the laboratory mouse, such as the escape from a threat, the pursuit of small prey,
and visual navigation. These are robust and reliable behaviors that require rapid and sensitive detection and
localization of specific features in the visual scene.
Mammals have two brain areas dedicated to visual processing: the thalamo-cortical pathway and the superior
colliculus. The superior colliculus (SC) is the evolutionarily more ancient pathway, shared with non-mammalian
vertebrates. It receives direct sensory input from the retina, and its output neurons produce motor signals that
can steer the animal's movements. In general terms, the superior colliculus is thought to identify the most
salient points in the scene for the purpose of overt orienting actions. It may also direct the orienting of covert
neural resources, like when we “pay attention” to a location in the scene.
In recent research we identified three aspects of neural computation in the SC that extend much beyond the
processing performed in the retina. On the background of this work, combined with earlier analysis, we
developed a hypothetical model of neural processing within the SC. Here we propose to test key aspects of
this model, with the goal of developing its quantitative details such that it correctly accounts for the extraction of
salient image features from the visual scene.
The research combines behavioral methods, large-scale electrical and optical recordings of neural activity,
manipulations of neural circuitry, circuit tracing tools, and circuit modeling. We will pursue the following aims:
(1) Understand the unusual functional anatomy of the SC whereby different parts of the visual field emphasize
different visual features. (2) Determine how the SC achieves the extraction of select visual features with both
specificity and invariance. (3) Understand an intriguing form of image memory in the SC that suppresses the
response to familiar stimuli. Two common themes connect these aims: Do these neural computations require a
contribution from the visual cortex? And what is the role of different cell types in the underlying neural circuits?
If these aims are achieved, they will contribute to an integrated understanding of how the brain reliably and
automatically identifies the most salient features of the environment, an essential function for our interactions
with the world. In turn that will help illuminate failure of that process, as occurs in various psychiatric disorders
of attention.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10201783
- **Project number:** 5R01NS111477-03
- **Recipient organization:** CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** MARKUS MEISTER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $378,350
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-15 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10201783

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10201783, Neural Computation for Innate Behaviors in the Superior Colliculus (5R01NS111477-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10201783. Licensed CC0.

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