#  Mr. Riccardo Carpineto 

John Assad, Ph.D., Department of Neurobiology, HMS

Project Title: Dynamics of Inititation of Voluntary Movement in the Superior Colliculus in the Mouse Model

 

 

 



   ![Riccardo Carpineto](/sites/g/files/omnuum5331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/2026-01/photo_Carpineto.jpg?itok=eNXQeWBH) 

 



 





 

Project Summary: Voluntary movements, which are actions initiated without direct external stimuli, remain a central question in motor neuroscience. Unlike reactive movements, the timing of self-initiated actions must emerge from internal neural dynamics. Understanding how and where these internal signals arise is not only a fundamental philosophical question, but also essential for understanding disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, in which voluntary movement is specifically impaired.

Previous work in both primates and mice has identified gradual ramping neural activity that precedes voluntary actions, suggesting that movement initiation involves a buildup of activity toward a threshold. More recent work in the lab, enabled by advanced genetic tools in the mouse model, has begun to pinpoint which brain regions truly generate these initiation signals. These findings highlight the superior colliculus as a key structure for initiating licking movements, making it a compelling entry point for studying the underlying dynamics.

The goal of my project is to investigate how the superior colliculus generates the internal signals that trigger movement, focusing on the temporal evolution of neural activity leading up to individual licking actions. By combining precise behavioral timing, optogenetic perturbations, and neural recordings, this work aims to uncover the dynamical processes that determine when a voluntary movement occurs.



 

 

 





 

 

- ## Fellowships
    
     [Current Exchange Fellows](/fellowships/current-exchange-fellows) [Exchange Fellows](/fellowships/exchange-fellows)
- ## Fellowship Year
    
     [2024-2025](/fellowship-year/2024-2025)