The execution of coordinated movements depends on the ability to dynamically adapt motor plans to external conditions and perturbations. Spinal circuits integrate motor commands and sensory information in order to generate precise patterns of muscle activation. The detection of different sensory stimuli and their integration with descending commands from the brain and local spinal networks is therefore critical for motor control. Our laboratory studies the mechanisms controlling assembly and function of spinal sensorimotor circuits by combining transcriptomics, genetics, tracing, and behavioral analyses to reveal how these circuits are first organized during development and then function in controlling movement and coding of sensory information.

Mammalian visual systems are comprised of multiple brain areas with distinct functional roles. Whilst functional specialisations have been proposed in the mouse based on visual feature encoding, the e...