Kate Hong
Department of Biological Sciences
Carnegie Mellon University

Primary somatosensory cortex and superior colliculus in tactile perceptual decision-making

For even the simplest forms of tactile perception, the function of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) is still debated. We previously reported that S1 inactivation only transiently, and partially impairs whisker-mediated tactile detection in mice. Mice with S1 lesions were able to perform–and learn–a detection task similar to intact animals. In the absence of S1, the midbrain superior colliculus (SC) is thought to mediate tactile detection, but SC’s functional contribution in the intact animal remains unclear. In this seminar, I will discuss work from my lab exploring the distinct roles of S1 and SC during perceptual decision-making for tactile detection.

A pizza lunch will be served.