Eye to Action

01/01/2025 to 31/12/2029

Every second, millions of bits of information enter our eyes. The brain must identify task-relevant information from this massive input stream - a key challenge of the visual system. The retina processes sensory input for behavioral relevance, with neuronal circuits extracting multiple features and forming up to 40 channels to the brain. However, how the brain processes these multiple channels remains fundamentally unclear.
I will investigate how neuronal circuits in the mouse superior colliculus, an evolutionary conserved brain area critical for visuomotor transformations, integrate retinal signals to drive behavior. Using population imaging, optogenetic manipulations, deep neural network modeling, and behavioral analysis, I will mechanistically examine how retinal circuits influence behavior in ecological settings. This work will uncover principles of retinal channel representation, identify convergence rules of retinal signals, and causally link retinal function to behaviors. The findings will reveal fundamental mechanisms of visual processing and can guide future sensory research while contributing to neuro-inspired artificial intelligence.