Research

Development of Neurons that Integrate Multisensory Input

A major task of the central nervous system is to make sense of the environment and mount an appropriate reaction or response. In humans the inability to integrate sensory input is apparent in disorders such as Autism and Dyslexia. For animals, the ability to organize and integrate inputs from different sensory systems is critical for capturing pray, escaping predators, etc. We are using genetic editing, calcium imaging, single-cell RNA sequencing and bioinformatic approaches to study the development of brain areas in the zebrafish model organism, which are involved in multisensory input integration. Larval zebrafish are becoming a very appealing model organism for answering questions about neural circuitry formation and sensory input integration for several reasons. At the larval stage of 5 days post fertilization, the nervous system of zebrafish is relatively simple, the larvae have developed all major organ systems, they are free swimming and display different behaviors such as searching for food, escaping threats, swimming against a current etc., which require sensory input integration. We hope that by studying sensory integration in zebrafish we can gain insights on principles of sensory integration in humans and how they may be changed in different neurodevelopmental disorders.