Neuronal plasticity and the evolvability of behavior

神经元可塑性和行为的进化性

• 批准号: 2203122
• 负责人: Bruce Carlson
• 金额: $ 98万
• 依托单位: Washington University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-15 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2203122&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Neuronal; plasticity; evolvability; behavior

Behavior in all animals, including humans, requires four components in nervous systems to successfully interact: sensory organs that receive external stimuli, central pathways that process the sensory stimuli, pathways that coordinate and plan behavioral actions, and muscles that execute those actions. Our team will examine how these four components are sustained as behavior changes during development and evolutionary timescales. The central hypothesis of this project is that changes in behavior alter the sensory feedback an animal receives about that behavior, and this, in turn, modifies the brain in such a way that it drives coordinated changes between each of these four components. The researchers will test this hypothesis by capitalizing on unique experimental advantages of weakly electric fish to reveal fundamental mechanisms underlying evolutionary and developmental change in behavior. Electric fish are excellent tools for public outreach in neuroscience and behavior. As exotic animals, they attract a wide audience. The researchers will expand ongoing outreach and education activities to teach K-12 students in the St. Louis region about hypothesis-driven science and the importance of brain plasticity in behavior. The researchers will also establish a new pipeline to recruit students from Harris-Stowe State University, a Historically Black College and University, into biological research. The proposed research will play a central role in the training and development of undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers.Nervous systems are complex, multifunctional, and highly integrated systems. Evolutionary and developmental change in behavior requires coordinated modifications to peripheral organs and multiple central circuits, which would seem to place strong phylogenetic and developmental constraints on nervous systems. Nevertheless, dramatic differences in behavior can arise between closely related species over relatively short evolutionary timespans. How can diverse behaviors evolve from constrained brains? The central hypothesis of this project is that activity-dependent wiring in response to altered sensory feedback drives coordinated changes between peripheral organs and central circuits. The researchers will test this hypothesis by capitalizing on the experimental advantages of mormyrid weakly electric fishes. These fishes are uniquely suited to addressing this challenging question, providing an unparalleled opportunity to gain fundamental insight into the role of activity-dependent plasticity in the evolution of behavioral novelty. The researchers will use a combination of hormone treatment and surgical manipulation to determine whether coordinated changes between peripheral organs and central circuits result from sensory feedback and plasticity. Electrophysiology and neuroanatomy will be used to identify the mechanisms underlying the resulting changes to central circuits, and to determine whether these same mechanisms are responsible for species differences in these circuits. The researchers will continue educational, training, and outreach efforts that are synergistic with the research and that impact K-12 students and educators, undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. The researchers will also establish a new pipeline to recruit students from Harris-Stowe State University, a Historically Black College and University, into biological research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

包括人类在内的所有动物的行为都需要神经系统中的四个组成部分来成功地相互作用：接受外部刺激的感觉器官，处理感觉刺激的中枢通路，协调和计划行为的通路，以及执行这些动作的肌肉。我们的团队将检查这四个组件是如何在开发和进化时间尺度中作为行为变化而持续的。这个项目的中心假设是，行为的改变改变了动物对该行为的感觉反馈，而这反过来又改变了大脑，从而驱动这四个组成部分之间的协调变化。研究人员将通过利用弱电鱼独特的实验优势来验证这一假设，以揭示行为进化和发育变化的基本机制。在神经科学和行为学方面，电鱼是向公众宣传的绝佳工具。作为外来动物，它们吸引了广泛的观众。研究人员将扩大正在进行的外展和教育活动，向圣路易斯地区的K-12学生讲授假设驱动的科学和大脑可塑性在行为中的重要性。研究人员还将建立一个新的渠道，从哈里斯-斯托州立大学招收学生，这是一所历史悠久的黑人学院和大学，从事生物研究。拟议的研究将在培养和发展本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员方面发挥核心作用。神经系统是复杂的、多功能的、高度集成的系统。行为的进化和发育变化需要外周器官和多个中枢回路的协调修改，这似乎对神经系统施加了强大的系统发育和发育限制。然而，在相对较短的进化时间内，密切相关的物种之间可能会出现行为上的巨大差异。不同的行为是如何从受限的大脑进化而来的？这个项目的中心假设是，对改变的感觉反馈作出反应的活动依赖的线路驱动了外围器官和中央电路之间的协调变化。研究人员将利用mormyrid弱电鱼的实验优势来验证这一假设。这些鱼类非常适合解决这个具有挑战性的问题，提供了一个无与伦比的机会，可以从根本上了解活动依赖的可塑性在行为新颖性进化中的作用。研究人员将使用激素治疗和手术操作相结合的方法来确定外周器官和中枢回路之间的协调变化是否源于感觉反馈和可塑性。电生理学和神经解剖学将用于确定中枢回路变化的机制，并确定这些机制是否导致了这些回路的物种差异。研究人员将继续进行教育、培训和推广工作，这些工作与研究协同作用，并影响K-12学生和教育工作者、本科生和研究生以及博士后研究人员。研究人员还将建立一个新的渠道，从哈里斯-斯托州立大学招收学生，这是一所历史悠久的黑人学院和大学，从事生物研究。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Hormonal coordination of motor output and internal prediction of sensory consequences in an electric fish

电鱼运动输出的激素协调和感觉后果的内部预测

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.069
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Current Biology
• 影响因子: 9.2
• 作者: Fukutomi, Matasaburo;Carlson, Bruce A.
• 通讯作者: Carlson, Bruce A.

Integrating neuroplasticity and evolution

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.03.002
• 发表时间: 2023-04
• 期刊: Current Biology
• 影响因子: 9.2
• 作者: C. Axelrod;S. Gordon;B. Carlson