Short description
To adapt to an ever changing environment and reach specific goals, the brain must learn to choose between behavioral options. This processing is guided by neuromodulatory systems that report perceptual and motivational information over multiple timescales. Neuromodulators act through specialized receptors on anatomically distinct pathways to shape neuronal activity and synaptic plasticity. Yet how the temporal coding of neuromodulatory signals affects interactions between brain regions to implement computations is poorly understood.
We aim to uncover the cellular and circuit mechanisms of these processes in cortical and subcortical circuits critical for voluntary movement (e.g., foraging), behavioral flexibility, and habits, and altered in Parkinson’s disease, using new tools to probe brain circuits at cellular and system level. We also explore how long noncoding RNAs contribute to these computations, and the potential of RNA based interventions for neurological diseases.
Achievements
Research: combining neurophysiology, imaging, optogenetics, chemogenetics and behavior, we showed how neuromodulators shape cell type and input specific synaptic plasticity relevant to motor and reward guided behavior (Nat Neurosci 2012; Cell Rep 2015; Neuron 2018; Nat Methods 2018; Biol Psychiatry 2021; PLoS Biol 2025; Cell Rep 2026).
Institutional: IIT Board of Directors; Coordinator, IIT Neuroscience Area; Co coordinator, IIT Brain & Machine Flagship.
Recognition: President elect, International Basal Ganglia Society; Officer, Dopamine Society; SfN Program Committee; Aspen Institute Award.
Five representative publications
- Nazzaro C, et al., Tonini R (2012). SK channel modulation rescues striatal plasticity and control over habit in cannabinoid tolerance. Nat Neurosci 15:284–293. doi:10.1038/nn.3022
- Trusel M, Cavaccini A, et al., Tonini R (2015). Coordinated regulation of synaptic plasticity at striatopallidal and striatonigral neurons orchestrates motor control. Cell Rep 13:1353–1365. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2015.10.009
- Cavaccini A, Gritti M, et al., Tonini R (2018). Serotonergic signaling controls input specific synaptic plasticity at striatal circuits. Neuron 98:801–816. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2018.04.008
- Paget Blanc V, Cavaccini A, et al., Tonini R (2025). Behavioral inflexibility through overtraining is mediated by reduced mGluR1/5 signaling capacity in the dorsolateral striatum. PLoS Biol 23:e3003288. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3003288
- Locarno A, Nava L, Barsotti N, et al., Tonini R (2026). Endocannabinoid modulation of a reciprocal fronto coerulear connection in contextual discrimination. Cell Rep. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117141