Delineating the circuit motifs of modulation that enable adaptive behaviours

Aversive innate behaviours are essential for survival: if there is something dangerous, we run, freeze or fight. As in humans, in mice many of these behaviours rely on visual cues indicating different types and positions of predators. A set of visuo-motor brain circuits drive freezing and flight by connecting the detection of such visual cues in the retina to brain areas that trigger the behavioural response. Despite being stereotypical, aversive behaviours can be altered by experience and context. I aim to investigate two specific potential modulators: engagement in a visual task and stress. To achieve this, I will use viral tools to label neurons in the visual cortex (task engagement) and substantia nigra (stress) that provide specific input to different visuo-motor circuits. I will gain insights into their impact on aversive behaviour by activating or inactivating these inputs while the mouse is running on a treadmill and exposed to danger-like stimuli. Finally, I will record the activity of neurons providing the modulatory input to determine their specific role in alteration of the behaviour. Together, these experiments will provide insights into the degree to which aversive behaviours can be altered by experience and context, and its underlying mechanisms. This research will increase our understanding about the architecture of the brain that allows reliable but adaptable behaviour.