![]() Despite being traditionally conceptualized and examined as independent sequential processes whereby decisions are deliberated before actions are planned ( Miller et al., 1960), target selection and acquisition in natural environments are fluid processes that continuously influence each other ( Cisek and Pastor-Bernier, 2014). Effective goal-directed behavior requires the coordination of sensory, cognitive, and motor processes to accurately identify, select, and acquire spatial targets such as food or mates. Overall, our results suggest a functional coupling between SC circuits that underlie target selection and acquisition, elucidating a key mechanism for goal-directed behavior.Īnimals continuously evaluate and approach spatial goals while interacting with their environment ( Cisek and Kalaska, 2010). Finally, we used an attractor model to examine how target selection activity in the SC could generate a rostral shift in activity during target acquisition using only intrinsic SC circuitry. By strategically recording from both rostral and caudal SC neurons, we also revealed an overall caudal-to-rostral shift in activity as targets were acquired. Single-unit recordings from intermediate and deep layer SC neurons in male mice performing a spatial choice task demonstrated that choice-predictive neurons, including optogenetically identified GABAergic SC neurons whose activity was causally related to target selection, exhibit increased activity during movement to the target. ![]() Here, we test the hypothesis that SC functional circuitry couples target selection and acquisition using a default motor plan generated by selection-related neuronal activity. The superior colliculus (SC) mediates the selection of spatial targets and remains active during orienting movements to acquire targets, which suggests the underexamined possibility that common SC circuits underlie both selection and acquisition processes. Although the ability to accurately select and acquire spatial targets depends on a shared network of brain regions, how these processes are linked by neural circuits remains unknown. To survive in unpredictable environments, animals must continuously evaluate their surroundings for behavioral targets, such as food and shelter, and direct their movements to acquire those targets.
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