Imaging the functional organization of the cerebral cortex

大脑皮层的组织并不是固定的，而是在动物的一生中不断地被经验所改变。改变皮层组织的经历包括但不限于感觉输入、学习、药物/激素和损伤的改变。我的研究活动旨在确定在发育中和成人大脑皮层中负责调节经验依赖性可塑性的细胞和分子机制。我特别感兴趣的是锌和释放锌的神经元对躯体感觉皮质的可塑性和功能分区的贡献。我们的大部分工作都是在死后组织中进行的，并推断了锌是如何影响大脑组织的变化的。目前这项应用的主要目标是获得和利用新的成像技术，使我能够可视化地显示在改变感觉刺激或从药物或遗传角度操纵锌水平后，活着的大脑是如何积极处理触觉信息的。这些实验将让我们了解调节快速感觉学习的神经生物学机制。

The organization of the cerebral cortex is not fixed, but rather, is continuously modified by experience throughout an animal's lifetime. Experiences that modify cortical organization include, but are not limited to alterations of sensory inputs, learning, drugs/hormones and injury. My research activities are directed toward identifying the cellular and molecular mechanisms that are responsible for mediating experience-dependent plasticity in the developing and adult cerebral cortex. In particular I am interested in the contribution of zinc, and neurons that release zinc, to the plasticity and functional compartmentation of somatosensory cortex. Much of our work has been conducted in post-mortem tissue with inferences made with respect to how zinc contributes to changes in brain organization. The primary aim of the current application is to acquire and utilize new imaging technologies that will allow me to visualize how the living brain actively processes tactile information after altering sensory stimulation or manipulating levels of zinc pharmacologically or genetically. These experiments will inform us regarding the neurobiological mechanisms that mediate rapid forms of sensory learning.