Lay Abstract PI: Dickinson, Patsy S. Proposal Number: IBN-9723885 Most behaviors can occur under a variety of internal and external conditions. Because of this, movements may vary from time to time to support the behavior in an appropriate way. It is now clear that the nervous system networks that underlie rhythmic behaviors can each produce a variety of outputs, allowing for this flexibility. These changes in output are largely controlled by chemicals called neuromodulators, which are released from nerve cells. There are many such neuromodulators, each of which can alter behavior in different ways. This project investigates how nervous system output, and hence rhythmic movements, are altered when several neuromodulators are present in the system at the same time, as well as the how such neuromodulators can alter the way nerve cells communicate with each other over a long time period. These studies increase the understanding of the roles of central nervous system chemical substances in generating behavioral flexibility on a number of levels, as well as increasing the understanding of the way the brain controls rhythmic movements so that they are most appropriate for a given situation. Such movements are fundamental to such important behaviors as walking, hand movements, speech, and visceral functions.
