Investigating the Thalamic Neuronal Activity Change in Reaching Behavior of Mice
Location
Suwanee, GA
Start Date
7-5-2024 1:00 PM
End Date
7-5-2024 4:00 PM
Description
The cerebellum has long been recognized for its critical role in motor control and coordination. Also, it serves as a central hub for processing sensory information related to movement and coordinating movement to ensure both smoothness and precision of various motor tasks. The cerebellar projections to the thalamic neurons ultimately synapse on the motor cortical neurons. While the cerebellum and thalamus work together in shaping the cortical output, the thalamic spatiotemporal contribution within the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway remains unclear. This study investigates the temporal relationship between thalamic neuronal activity and movement in mice. Previous studies suggest that the cerebellum is involved in the prediction and planning of movement. Therefore, the cerebellar input may alter the thalamic neuron firing rate which can be recorded from the ventrolateral and ventromedial regions of the thalamus. It is hypothesized that thalamic neuronal activity occurs prior to the movement of the reaching behavior of the mice. To test our hypothesis, transgenic mice (SCA3 and SCA11) and normal mice acclimated to water restriction were used for this behavior experiment. The headplated mouse was then mounted on a headfix apparatus. Metal electrodes were used in the recordings (at the depth of 4.0 - 4.5 mm) of the thalamic neuronal activity. Recordings were conducted on awake mice while they performed the reaching behavior. All video recordings were done by a Baslar 1920-A camera and processed in a Pylon interface. The actual movement was detected utilizing DeepLabCut’s markerless pose estimation tracking software. Lastly, a Differential AC amplifier (Model 1700) was used in combination with pCLAMP for data acquisition of thalamic neuronal activity. Multiunit activity and local field potential were analyzed using Matlab. Preliminary data from the multiunit activity reveals a possible increase in the firing rate of motor thalamic neurons (from VM at the depth of 4.31 mm). In future experiments, more recordings will be collected, and cross-correlation data analysis will be performed to demonstrate the thalamic involvement in the prediction and planning of movement.
Embargo Period
5-23-2024
Investigating the Thalamic Neuronal Activity Change in Reaching Behavior of Mice
Suwanee, GA
The cerebellum has long been recognized for its critical role in motor control and coordination. Also, it serves as a central hub for processing sensory information related to movement and coordinating movement to ensure both smoothness and precision of various motor tasks. The cerebellar projections to the thalamic neurons ultimately synapse on the motor cortical neurons. While the cerebellum and thalamus work together in shaping the cortical output, the thalamic spatiotemporal contribution within the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway remains unclear. This study investigates the temporal relationship between thalamic neuronal activity and movement in mice. Previous studies suggest that the cerebellum is involved in the prediction and planning of movement. Therefore, the cerebellar input may alter the thalamic neuron firing rate which can be recorded from the ventrolateral and ventromedial regions of the thalamus. It is hypothesized that thalamic neuronal activity occurs prior to the movement of the reaching behavior of the mice. To test our hypothesis, transgenic mice (SCA3 and SCA11) and normal mice acclimated to water restriction were used for this behavior experiment. The headplated mouse was then mounted on a headfix apparatus. Metal electrodes were used in the recordings (at the depth of 4.0 - 4.5 mm) of the thalamic neuronal activity. Recordings were conducted on awake mice while they performed the reaching behavior. All video recordings were done by a Baslar 1920-A camera and processed in a Pylon interface. The actual movement was detected utilizing DeepLabCut’s markerless pose estimation tracking software. Lastly, a Differential AC amplifier (Model 1700) was used in combination with pCLAMP for data acquisition of thalamic neuronal activity. Multiunit activity and local field potential were analyzed using Matlab. Preliminary data from the multiunit activity reveals a possible increase in the firing rate of motor thalamic neurons (from VM at the depth of 4.31 mm). In future experiments, more recordings will be collected, and cross-correlation data analysis will be performed to demonstrate the thalamic involvement in the prediction and planning of movement.