# Investigating Cerebellotectal projections in target acquisition

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2021 · $33,803

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
How the nervous system acquires targets (i.e. the ability to move to and stop precisely at a target) with such
incredible precision is a fundamental question of motor control and systems neuroscience. A network of
several brain regions is implicated in these processes, but how activity is coordinated across structures and
cell types is unknown. In particular, the reciprocally-interconnected superior colliculus (SC) and cerebellum
(Cb) are two major hubs of this network: The deep layers of the SC contain a topographic map in which the
eccentricity of a contralateral spatial target is represented by the location of activity along its rostrocaudal axis,
with the rostral pole reflecting target acquisition; the Cb, by contrast, refines movements by providing
feedforward control signals based on learned associations. While previous investigations have shown the Cb
and SC share complementary roles in orienting behaviors, the nature of their interaction in controlling
movement for target acquisition is unclear. Cerebellotectal projections, afferent projections from cerebellar
nuclei (CbNs) to excitatory neurons in the rostral SC, are ideally situated to control precise target acquisition.
However, previous manipulations of cerebellotectal projections and SC target neurons have been limited, used
reversible lesions that lasted much longer than a single movement, and lacked cell-type specificity, preventing
any causal test of whether cerebellar output to the superior colliculus functions to enhance precision in target
acquisition. To address these limitations, this proposal utilizes a closed-loop behavioral system for mice in
which optogenetic manipulation is triggered by the real-time kinematics of precise orienting limb movements for
target acquisition. Combining this system with optogenetic control of CbN neurons and cell-type specific opsin
expression in excitatory SC neurons will allow for short-term reversible manipulation of cerebellar output and
excitatory SC activity at specific kinematic locations of precise orienting movements, directly interrogating the
role of cerebellar contribution to the superior colliculus in controlling precise target acquisition.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10313163
- **Project number:** 1F31NS120539-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Taylor L Yamauchi
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $33,803
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-08-01 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10313163

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10313163, Investigating Cerebellotectal projections in target acquisition (1F31NS120539-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10313163. Licensed CC0.

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