High-Resolution Measurements of Calcium in Hippocampus Neurons

该项目寻求对一项新技术的研究支持，该技术可以量化与参与学习和记忆的海马神经元活动相关的细胞内钙浓度的变化。具体来说，钙敏感的荧光染料将被微注射到选定的神经元中，并使用双波长荧光光谱仪和扫描共聚焦显微镜在操作神经元活动（如高频破伤风）后进行监测，以产生长期增强。拟议中的研究是一场赌博，而且只有很少的初步数据可以做出简单的判断。然而，研究人员在分析培养细胞中的钙变化方面取得了很好的进展。难点在于将这些程序扩展到组织切片。产生重大结果的可能性似乎足以证明这种风险是合理的。对海马体神经元中钙变化进行高分辨率测量的能力将对神经科学的许多领域产生影响，包括计算心理学、神经网络建模和电生理学。这项工作有可能使神经科学更接近于理解作为学习和记忆基础的突触分子机制。

The PI seeks support for an investigation of a novel technique to quantify the changes in intracellular concentrations of calcium that are associated with the activity of hippocampal neurons involved in learning and memory. Specifically, calcium- sensitive fluorescent dyes will be mircroinjected into selected neurons and monitored using a dual-wavelength spectrofluorimeter and scanning confocal microscope following manipulation of neuronal activity, such as high-frequency tetanus to produce long term potentiation. The proposed research is a gamble and there is a minimum of preliminary data to allow an easy judgement. However, the investigators have made excellent progress in analyzing calcium changes in cultured cells. The difficulty is in extending these procedures to the tissue slice. The potential for a significant outcome seems sufficient to justify the risk. The ability to make high-resolution measurements of calcium changes in hippocampal neurons will have an impact on many areas of neuroscience, including computational psychology, neural net modeling, and electrophysiology. This work has the potential to move neuroscience significantly closer to an understanding of the synaptic molecular mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.