Prsa Lab, Uni Fribourg

SENSORIMOTOR NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH

Movements are at the center of all our behavior, and proper behavior requires accurate movements. Whether it is simply reaching to shake someone's hand or executing a complex skill like playing an instrument, movement accuracy allows us to appropriately intearct with the world around us. How does the brain ensure that our movements consistently arrive at their intended targets given an almost infinite number of motor contexts, each requiring its own specific pattern of muscle contractions? Despite decades of research, the answer to this basic question remains largely incomplete. The Prsa lab seeks to identify brain mechanisms responsible for guiding goal-directed movements with a detailed dissection of the underlying neuronal circuits. Because brain diseases arise from dysfunctions of these basic mechanisms, their understanding leads to gaining better insights into the pathophysiology of neurological disease.
Movement adaptation Our main research is aimed at understanding how voluntary movements are adapted to unexpected perturbations and uncertain environments. We work with mice as the model system and develop new behavioural paradigms based on benchmark experiments in humans. The main focus is on the adaptation of forelimb movements and proprioceptive sensory feedback. Neural mechanisms The lab uses advanced genetic, optical, microscopy and electrophysiology tools to understand the neural mechanisms of sensorimotor adaptation and the processing of proprioceptive information in the mouse brain. We are in particular interested in the cerebellum as the site of neuronal plasticity that guides adaptative behavioural changes. The cerebellum is a phylogenetically ancient brain structure with a well-preserved anatomical and physiological architecture across mammalian taxa. Understanding its neural mechanisms in an animal model has great translational potential for clinical applications in humans.
Illustrations and design by Mario Prsa.