Functional coupling between target selection and acquisition in the superior colliculus

Abstract

How do neural circuits ensure that selected targets are successfully acquired? Here, we examine whether choice-related activity in the superior colliculus (SC) promotes a motor plan for target acquisition. By demonstrating that choice-predictive SC neurons—including GABAergic neurons—remain active throughout movement, while the activity of rostral SC neurons increases during acquisition, and by recapitulating these dynamics with an attractor model, our results support a role for SC circuits in coupling target selection and acquisition.