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Short Bio
Marcelo obtained his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He conducted his undergrad thesis in the lab of Prof. Ana Belén Elgoyhen, elucidating how evolution shaped the pharmacological profile of cochlear receptors. During his Ph.D., he studied the segregation of inhibitory and excitatory signals in the peripheral auditory system under the guidance of Dr. Juan Goutman at INGEBI (Buenos Aires). In 2020, he became a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Florencia Iacaruso. His project is focused on understanding the neural basis of sensorimotor transformations during pursuit behaviours.
Abstract of Talk
Extraction of relevant stimulus features from the dynamic sensory scene needs to be coupled to the execution of appropriate adaptive responses to ensure survival. A predator needs to evaluate its position with respect to that of moving prey, define an approach strategy and carry out the proper motor commands to execute it. The most efficient strategy will require an estimation of the future position of the target and should account for the predator’s sensorimotor processing delays to make a predictive interception. Mice can hunt moving prey and have been established as a successful model to study visually guided pursuit and capture behaviours. We aim to recapitulate elements of naturalistic prey capture in mice using a novel behavioural paradigm. Closed-loop presentation of visual stimuli on a touchscreen guided highly reproducible pursuit behaviours. In each session, mice performed hundreds of trials during which target interception was dependent on the velocity and contrast of the target. We show mice can adapt their pursuit strategy to the demands of the task by modifying their running speed and the trajectory followed to reach the target. Our research focuses on the role of midbrain structures involved in orienting behaviours. Optogenetic silencing the superior colliculus demonstrated the integration of spatiotemporal features of moving sensory stimuli and links it to the execution of motor commands that guide the pursuit strategy.