Accessing and actuating specified neural circuits underlying motor function and dysfunction

Nerve cells in a brain region known as the basal ganglia are essential for making decisions and acting on them. This is shown by the main symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, in which the basal ganglia do not work properly. Here, we aim to explain how nerve cells in the basal ganglia work together with their partner “motor circuits” to support purposeful movement. We will focus our efforts on discovering when, why and how different types of nerve cell use special patterns of electrical activity, genes and connections to control behaviour. As an important part of this, we will define how a lack of the chemical dopamine, as occurs in Parkinson’s disease, changes the ways in which these nerve cells interact and how they influence behaviour. This should help us better understand why people with Parkinson’s disease have difficulties with moving. These key issues cannot be addressed by studying humans alone, so we study the ways in which brain cells work in rodents (rats and mice). This research will provide important new knowledge about how cells in the basal ganglia communicate with each other in health and disease. By defining the unique and complementary roles played by different types of nerve cell during movement, this research will put us in a stronger position to develop new therapies that are better able to manage brain activity and provide improved relief from symptoms in advanced Parkinson’s disease.