RUI: ph Regulation in Medullary Glia

RUI：髓质胶质细胞的 pH 调节

• 批准号: 9810809
• 负责人: Joseph Erlichman
• 金额: $ 14.62万
• 依托单位: Allegheny College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1998
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1998-09-15 至 1999-10-27
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9810809&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; ph; Regulation; Medullary; Glia

IBN 98-10809 ERLICHMAN The brain is composed of two types of cells termed neurons and glia. Most of what we know about the processing of information in the brain involves the generation, propagation and transfer of electrical signals between neurons within the brain. Although it is clear that neurons play a pivotal role in all brain-related activities such as learning and memory, recent research suggests that glial cells may play a crucial role in normal neuronal function. The importance of glia in normal brain function may be related to their ability to regulate a variety of chemicals accessible to the neurons. The regulation of these chemicals is important to study because these substances that can have profound effects on the production of electrical signals in neurons and thus the type and content of information processed by the brain. Dr. Erlichman will examine role of glia in a region of the brain involved in the regulation of breathing. Using live brain tissue and a special microscope, he will investigate how glia regulate the level of acidity in a region of the brain known as the medulla. Controlling the level of acidity in the body is one of the most tightly regulated systems known. This tight regulation is thought to occur because slight variations in acidity (either too much or too little) can greatly disrupt cell function throughout the body. The medulla is a particularly important region of the brain since neurons at these sites 'sense' changes in acidity by altering their production of electrical signals. These changes in electrical signals ultimately result in a change in breathing, which is one method the body uses to regulate acidity. Investigating the role of glia in this response is exciting because it will provide important new information on how glia help regulate acidity in the medulla and more generally, how the interaction of these two cell types help shape information processing in the brain.

IBN 98-10809 ERLICHMAN 大脑由两种类型的细胞组成，称为神经元和神经胶质细胞。我们对大脑中信息处理的了解大部分涉及大脑内神经元之间电信号的生成、传播和传输。尽管很明显神经元在学习和记忆等所有大脑相关活动中发挥着关键作用，但最近的研究表明神经胶质细胞可能在正常神经元功能中发挥着至关重要的作用。神经胶质细胞在正常大脑功能中的重要性可能与其调节神经元可接触的多种化学物质的能力有关。这些化学物质的调节对于研究很重要，因为这些物质可以对神经元中电信号的产生产生深远的影响，从而对大脑处理的信息的类型和内容产生深远的影响。 埃利希曼博士将研究神经胶质细胞在涉及呼吸调节的大脑区域中的作用。他将利用活体脑组织和特殊显微镜，研究神经胶质细胞如何调节大脑髓质区域的酸度水平。控制体内酸度水平是已知监管最严格的系统之一。这种严格的调节被认为是因为酸度的轻微变化（太多或太少）会极大地破坏整个身体的细胞功能。髓质是大脑中一个特别重要的区域，因为这些部位的神经元通过改变电信号的产生来“感知”酸度的变化。这些电信号的变化最终会导致呼吸的变化，这是身体调节酸度的一种方法。 研究神经胶质细胞在这种反应中的作用是令人兴奋的，因为它将提供关于神经胶质细胞如何帮助调节髓质酸度的重要新信息，更广泛地说，这两种细胞类型的相互作用如何帮助塑造大脑中的信息处理。