Analysis of Activity Dependent Mechanisms of Neuronal Differentiation

描述（由申请人提供）：电活动和钙信号在指导神经递质规范中起重要作用。由自然视觉刺激引起的电活动的变化会触发神经元中产生神经递质的出现，而这些神经元通常会产生不同的神经递质。这些过程的许多研究已经在细胞培养中进行，为神经元发育的能力提供了重要的见解。然而，最终，我们想要了解分化是如何在体内进行的。这项研究有三个具体目标，重点是了解非洲爪蟾（Xenopus laevis）幼虫完整神经系统中的这些过程，从而促进行为、细胞和分子分析。本研究的直接目的是验证一个假设，即自然嗅觉刺激激活神经回路，导致回路中神经元的递质重新规范，激活回路控制的行为发生相应的变化，并涉及特定的分子机制。这项研究的长期目标是了解如何利用神经网络激活来诱导大脑中的神经递质可塑性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Electrical activity and calcium signaling have significant roles in directing neurotransmitter specification. Changes in electrical activity by natural visual stimuli trigger the appearance of neurotransmitters in neurons that normally produce different ones. Many of studies of these processes have been carried out in cell culture, providing important insights into the capabilities of developing neurons. Ultimately, however, we want to understand how differentiation proceeds in vivo. The proposed research has three specific aims, focused on understanding these processes in the intact nervous system of larvae of the frog, Xenopus laevis, which facilitates behavioral, cellular and molecular analysis. The immediate goal of this research is to test the hypothesis that activation of a neural circuit by a natural olfactory stimulus leads to transmitter respecification in neurons in the circuit with corresponding changes in behavior controlled by the activated circuit, and that specific molecular mechanisms are involved. The long- term goal of this research is to understand how neural network activation can be used to induce neurotransmitter plasticity in the brain.