Research
The superior colliculus and virtual navigation in dreams
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, associated with vivid dreaming, involves the brain’s spatial navigation system, particularly the anterior thalamus. This region, crucial for memory formation, contains head direction (HD) cells that act as an inner compass. Our research has shown that motor commands in the superior colliculus during REM sleep can shift this internal compass, as if the head had turned in dreams. This suggests the brain uses its internal model to represent the consequences of action during REM sleep. Our lab focuses on the colliculo-thalamo-cortical pathway to understand how these motor commands influence the internal compass, in search of the neuronal basis for the brain’s internal model of the world.
Active vision in dreams and in psychiatric disorders
How does the brain internally integrate actions into perception? The superior colliculus is key to this process, with its deep layer controlling orienting eye-head movements and its superficial layer processing visual inputs. These two layers interact directly and indirectly for active vision during wakefulness. Our lab studies how visuomotor interaction in the superior colliculus supports active vision in dreams and how this coordinates with thalamo-cortical circuits during REM sleep to generate visual perception. We also explore these circuits in psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, where disruptions in the brain’s internal model may play a role.
Microcircuit analysis during wakefulness and sleep
How does computation in the brain arise from the complex interactions within neuronal circuits? To understand this mechanistically, it is essential to examine the dynamic interactions among diverse cell types within these circuits. Our lab focuses on how different cell types in the superior colliculus and thalamo-cortical circuits interact to support the internal model of visuomotor integration. We will develop methods to classify these cell types based on physiological features such as waveforms and their synchronization with various oscillations, combining cutting-edge physiological recordings and computational techniques.
