Circuit mechanisms that command and pattern behavioural sequences

Animals accomplish complex behaviours such as building a nest, hunting for prey and caring for their young by coordinating sequences of simpler movements. The brain weighs sensory information alongside internal drives to decide when to take action and then dynamically controls sequences of movements to keep pace with changing events (for instance during pursuit of fleeing prey). In this project, I will examine how neural circuits function to achieve this flexible control. By using larval zebrafish, which have tiny, transparent brains, I will monitor the activity of entire neural networks at single-cell resolution during hunting sequences. Optogenetic techniques will enable me to precisely manipulate brain activity using light and thereby test and refine computational models of circuit function. This will allow me to discover how brain circuits make the decision to initiate behaviour and how they choreograph a sequence of precise manoeuvres to accomplish a goal.