Coordination Funds

长期以来，神经科学研究已经证实，主要类型的神经元，如投射神经元和神经元间神经元，都由许多专门的亚型组成，适合在网络中执行特定的任务。与之形成鲜明对比的是，每一类大胶质细胞仍然被认为是同质的细胞群体，因此通常被称为“星形胶质细胞”或“少突胶质细胞”。然而，最近的研究提供了令人信服的证据，表明这种情况过于简单化，表明每一类神经胶质细胞体现的细胞群体比人们通常认为的要多样化得多。神经胶质细胞似乎在不同的脑区、不同的发育阶段和不同的生物体活动水平具有不同的生理特性。这些观察表明，胶质细胞的功能特化可能已经发展成满足不同网络的特定要求，而不同的网络可能因此是大脑活动的关键决定因素。这一新概念将改变我们对大脑功能的看法，并将神经胶质细胞置于更加突出的关注焦点。然而，它仍然基于相当坊间的证据，因此，关于神经胶质异质性的研究还处于初级阶段。我们将在SPP 1757中解决神经科学的这个基本问题。这一新的优先计划的主要目标是了解神经胶质细胞的特化，并阐明其对大脑功能和行为的贡献。最终，优先计划将为更好地了解神经胶质细胞在脑病理中的分子和细胞作用铺平道路，这是开发治疗脑损伤和疾病的新的、更定制的和有针对性的策略所迫切需要的。为了揭示神经胶质异质性是如何发展的及其功能后果，我们将综合来自最先进的高通量技术、细胞生物学方法和使用电生理学、细胞和功能成像的生理学研究的分子数据。此外，我们将分析神经胶质专门化对周围神经元、给定脑区和脑功能的影响。

Neuroscience research has long established that the major classes of neurones such as projection neurones and interneurones each consist of a multitude of specialized subtypes adapted to performing defined tasks in the network. In stark contrast, each class of macroglia is often still considered a homogeneous population of cells and thus commonly addressed as "the astrocyte" or "the oligodendrocyte".Recent studies have, however, provided compelling evidence that this picture is way too simplistic, indicating that each class of glial cells embodies a much more diverse cell population than commonly thought. Glial cells appear to have distinct physiological properties in different brain regions, at different developmental stages and at different activity levels of the organism. These observations suggest that functional specializations of glia might have developed to meet the specific requirements of distinct networks which might as such be critical determinants of brain activity. This new concept will change the way we think about brain function and puts glial cells into an even more prominent focus of attention. It is, however, still based on rather anecdotal evidence and as such, research on glial heterogeneity is in its infancy. We will address this fundamental question of neuroscience in the SPP 1757. The main goals of this new Priority Programme are to understand glial cell specialization and to elucidate its contribution to brain function and behaviour. Ultimately, the Priority Programme will pave the way for a better understanding of the molecular and cellular role of glia in brain pathologies that is urgently needed to develop novel, more customized and targeted strategies for the treatment of brain injury and disease.To unravel how glial heterogeneity develops and what its functional consequences are, we will consolidate molecular data from state-of-the-art high-throughput techniques, from cell biology approaches and from physiological studies using electrophysiology, cellular and functional imaging. Furthermore, we will analyse the impact of glial specializations on the surrounding neurons, on the given brain region and on brain performance.