Goulding Lab
Principal Investigator: Martyn D Goulding
Institution: Salk Institute for Biological Studies (La Jolla, CA)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Animals and humans display a vast repertoire of behaviors, many of which are generated by motor networks in the spinal cord. This coordinated spinal motor activity is strongly regulated by descending motor control pathways and sensory afferent feedback. Sensory feedback is essential for both stereotypical protective reflexes, such as limb withdrawal, and for regulating ongoing motor behaviors, such as walking, running, and reaching. Interestingly, many descending motor control pathways converge on interneurons in the dorsal spinal cord that transmit sensory information, indicating a prominent role for these cells in motor control. Currently, very little is known about how sensorimotor networks in the spinal cord are organized at a cellular level. Efforts proposed here will use cutting-edge genetic manipulations and sensitive behavioral assays to deconstruct the cellular composition and synaptic connectivity of these sensorimotor circuits. The goals of this study are to functionally define the neuronal cell types that make up the sensorimotor circuitry and to generate a connectivity map that can then be used to construct a working model of how the sensorimotor circuitry is organized…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R35NS111643-08: Spinal circuits for mechanical itch and light touch (2026)
- 5R35NS111643-07: Spinal circuits for mechanical itch and light touch (2025)
- 3R35NS111643-06S1: Spinal circuits for mechanical itch and light touch (2024)
- 5R35NS111643-06: Spinal circuits for mechanical itch and light touch (2024)
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