Abstract
My lab has been studying the mechanisms by which the motor cortex contributes to motor learning. I will share two of our latest, unpublished sets of results. First, I will present evidence that precise, learned activity patterns in the primary motor cortex (M1) is causally related to the generation of learned movements. By two-photon optogenetic stimulation combined with two-photon calcium imaging, we find that the learned activity pattern in M1 can drive learned movements when artificially induced. Further, an appropriate preparatory network state in M1 and a precise input to M1 are both critical for generating the learned activity. Second, I will describe how the motor cortex contributes to the generation of learned, bimanual movements.
Biography
Dr Komiyama was a Postdoc at Janelia Farm, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, received his Phd in Neurosciences at Stanford University (2006) and his BA in Biochemistry at University of Tokyo (2001). His Honors include: Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, Japan-Stanford Association Graduate Fellowship, Stanford Graduate Fellowship, Pew Scholars Program, Packard Fellowship and Sloan Research Fellowship. Dr Komiyama is a NYSCF-Robertson Investigator.