Research

A major goal of the research in our department is to elucidate the neural mechanisms controlling movements and how they are disturbed in movement disorders of human patients.

Outline of Projects

1. To elucidate neural mechanisms of visual discrimination and orienting.
2. To clarify a role of basal ganglia in motor control.
3. To establish effective methods for delineating brain regions in the surgical treatment of Parkinson disease.

Figure. Relationship of orienting head movement and neuronal activity in the superior colliculus. Drawing: Orienting movement in cats.Traces: head velocity(top), head position, and neuronal activity(bottom). A cat fixates a center LED (4H) and moves its head and eyes to a new target LED (1H) turned on in the peripheral visual field.Neurons in the superior colliculus increase activity in advance to this movement.

Staff