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Functional organization of descending neuron networks for collision avoidance

Award Number: R01NS146463
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2031

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Functional organization of descending neuron networks for collision avoidance - PROJECT SUMMARY Behavior emerges from the coordination of motor programs. Motor programs are driven and coordinated by the activity of pathways that descend from the brain to motor circuits in the spinal cord or ventral nerve cord. Our understanding of how descending pathways coordinate behaviors remains limited across species, mainly due to difficulties in accessing descending pathways. Current hypotheses posit descending pathways are hierarchical, where direct activation of one pathway also secondarily recruits more subordinate pathways to generate complete behaviors. Yet we still know little about how descending pathways are organized in the brain, and how their connectivity shapes information propagation and motor control. Here, we investigate the functional organization of descending pathways using complete electron microscopy connectomes of the central nervous system, which provide unprecedented access to descending neuronal networks at the resolution of individual synapses. We focus on descending neurons that solve a conserved behavioral problem: how to avoid an object approaching on a direct collision course. Our preliminary data suggest object avoidance behaviors rely on networks of interconnected descending neurons where hierarchical structures are embedded. We hypothesize this network organization enables differential motor programs to be recruited to generate flexibility in behavioral responses. We evaluate this hypothesis by probing the functional capabilities of these networks in extracting visual information of an approaching object and transforming it into motor commands. In this multi-PI proposal, we rely on both computational modeling and whole-cell electrophysiology with genetic manipulations to predict, measure, and perturb information propagation across descending pathways. Our work will uncover the functional architecture of behaviorally relevant networks and the key mechanisms that transform sensory inputs into coordinated motor outputs.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $547,255 )
2026	2026	DREXEL UNIVERSITY	3141 CHESTNUT ST	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	1	8/27/2026	NEW	$547,255
														Subtotal = $547,255

Grand Total All Awards = $547,255

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Functional organization of descending neuron networks for collision avoidance

Award Number: R01NS146463

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2031

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