RUI: Coordinated modulation of a multi-layered neuromuscular system

虽然行为是由神经系统控制的，但神经输出是通过神经肌肉系统过滤的，并由反馈途径改变。这些系统的所有组成部分都可以被激素或神经递质改变(调节)。然而，由于这些组件以复杂的方式相互作用，因此很难预测调整单个组件的行为效果。这个项目的目标是扩大我们对构成节律行为的多组分神经肌肉系统的控制和调节的理解，特别是组成完整的节律神经肌肉系统的多组分被调节以产生适应行为的方式。该项目将使用一个简单的模型系统(甲壳类心脏)中的生理记录来检查所有水平的调制，包括中枢神经系统的电活动，肌肉产生的运动，以及已知反馈系统的影响。这种方法将是比较的，检查两个在结构上相关的分子对整个系统的影响，以及第三个分子的影响，第三个分子在结构上也与前两个分子相关，其对整个神经肌肉系统的影响与前两个分子有很大不同。揭示的一般原理应该会促进我们对系统不同组成部分，特别是反馈系统的调节程度，以及这种调节效应如何能够相互作用，产生预期的最终输出或行为的理解。此外，由于这项工作将在本科学院进行，它将有助于本科生对科学的准备、保留和兴趣。学生将在智力和动手工作中做出贡献，他们将包括代表人数不足的少数族裔和女性，就像过去在PI的实验室中的情况一样。

Although behavior is controlled by the nervous system, neuronal output is filtered through the neuromuscular system and is altered by feedback pathways. All components of such systems can be altered (modulated) by hormones or neurotransmitters. However, because these components interact in complex ways, the behavioral effects of modulating individual components are difficult to predict. The goal of this project is to extend our understanding of the control and modulation of the multi-component neuromuscular systems that underlie rhythmic behaviors, particularly the ways in which the multiple components that make up complete rhythmic neuromuscular systems are modulated to produce adaptive behaviors. The project will use physiological recordings in a simple model system (the crustacean heart) to examine modulation at all levels, including electrical activity in the central nervous system, movements generated by the muscles, and the effects of the known feedback systems. The approach will be comparative, examining the effects of two structurally related molecules that have similar effects on the whole system, and the effects of a third molecule, also structurally related to the first two, whose effects on the neuromuscular system as a whole differ substantially from the first two. The general principles uncovered should advance our understanding of both the extent to which different components of a system, particularly feedback systems, are modulated, and the ways in which such modulatory effects are able to interact to produce a predicted final output or behavior.In addition, because this work will be conducted at an undergraduate college, it will contribute to the preparation, retention and interest of undergraduates in science. Students, who will contribute both intellectually and in hands-on work, will include both underrepresented minorities and women, as has been the case in the PI's lab in the past.