ACTIVITY 1: MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY UNIT

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The long-term objective of this proposal was to expand the capability of investigators at the Institute of Neurobiology for carrying out research on the regulation of gene expression in neurobiological systems. The thrust of this expansion was to develop a molecular neurobiology unit at the Institute. Specifically, the aims of this proposal were to : 1) obtain the equipment required for carrying out this kind of research, and 2) provide salary support for one senior postdoctoral level investigator. The requested euipment and personnel were used to expand the following on-going projects by resident scientists: 1) molecular mechanisms that underlie A-current diversity in a lobster motor system, 2) molecular determinants of protein kinase A modulation of heart sodium channels, 3) role of engrailed paralogues in specification of neuronal anatomy and synaptic connections, 4) the crayfish myomodulin neuropeptides: precursor organization and gene expression, 5) amine receptor gene expression and status in the dominance hierarchies of a tropical prawn, and 6) changes in gene expression induced by basic fibroblast growth factor after optic nerve injury. The addition of a molecular neurobiology unit to study the structure, function or expression of specific neural proteins would significantly enhance the overall research capacity and opportunities for scientific training at the Institute. Although these studies are basic in nature, they addressed important molecular mechanisms that are critical for understanding neurological conditions affecting the Puerto Rican population