Scott Pluta

Title:

Assistant Professor

Contact:

Email Address: spluta@purdue.edu
Lab Website Link: https://spluta5.wixsite.com/plutalab

Primary Training Group:

Integrative Neuroscience

Research Areas:

Navigating our surroundings is a goal-directed process that requires a continual interplay between sensory perception and motor action. To reach the intended destination, orienting towards and acting upon the appropriate environmental cues is essential. The midbrain superior colliculus (SC) is a centralized hub that integrates sensory, motor, and intentional information to guide behavior. Deactivation or lesion of the SC greatly impairs an animal's ability to attend to relevant cues, ignore distractions, and execute the appropriate response. The parallel integration of multiple, disparately organized cortical circuits in the SC is likely critical to forming its rich representations of sensory information that guide its motor decisions. However, the physiological and behavioral significance of this widespread, parallel convergence of cortical input in the SC is poorly understood.

Current Projects:

The primary focus of my lab is to understand how descending signals from the cerebral cortex influence the activity of neurons in the SC to ultimately shape its intimate connection to behavior. We utilize genetically targeted labeling of cortical neurons and optically manipulate their activity to dissect their physiological and behavioral significance. To form a complete understanding of the sensorimotor loop, we causally test the significance of activity ascending from the SC to higher order networks. Ultimately, research from my lab will provide valuable insight into the neural mechanisms underlying goal-directed behaviors and could enable us to provide better treatment and diagnosis of neurological disorders, such as ADHD, Parkinson’s or schizophrenia.