While fascinated by how the brain controls numerous behaviors such as perception, memory, emotion and consciousness, we chose to study the mechanisms underlying motor control – the sole output of our body. There are two rationales behind our choice. First, the fundamental processes governing motor control – muscle contractions, have been well characterized. In principle, the neural mechanisms underlying motor control can be fully elucidated if we can decipher how neural activities coordinate the spatiotemporal activation of muscle groups. Second, when studying animal models, movement is usually what we can directly observe. Unlike cognitive processes, which usually require human interpretation, we can directly quantify body movements. Furthermore, the rapid advancements in AI offer unprecedented opportunities for quantifying and modeling body movements.
Specifically, our research focuses on the cerebellar and brainstem neural circuits that control body movements. We combine large-scale electrophysiological recording, circuit tracing, circuit manipulations, quantitative behavior paradigms, data analysis and modelling, to characterize neural mechanisms underlying both normal motor functions and essential tremor – the most common movement disorder. For additional details, please refer to the Research section.