The role of electrical activity in the development of sensorimotor networks in mammals

电活动在哺乳动物感觉运动网络发育中的作用

• 批准号: 312015-2011
• 负责人: Pflieger, JeanFrançois
• 金额: $ 1.75万
• 依托单位: Université de Montréal
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2011-01-01 至 2012-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=481098
• 关键词: role; electrical; activity; development; sensorimotor

Neural activity plays a role in the development of the nervous system but the mechanisms involved are still largely unknown. Two different forms of this activity can be distinguished: "spontaneous" activity that is intrinsically generated in neural networks during development, and "experience dependent" activity that is generated by extrinsic stimulation of the networks. Spontaneous activity is a very early phenomenon which is associated with several phases of the development of neural structures (axon growth, synaptogenesis). The precocious expression of spontaneous activity explains that in mammals it is mostly studied in structures that develop lately (retina, cortex). Structures that develop very early, such as the spinal motor networks, were largely ignored by fault of an experimental model. We use an original mammalian model, the opossum Monodelphis domestica, allowing experimental studies of the mechanisms underlying spontaneous activity by different approaches (anatomical, physiological, pharmacological and behavioral). Using in vitro brainstem spinal-cord preparations, we have showed that spontaneous activity is expressed in the spinal cord of postnatal embryos and started to study the mechanisms underlying its generation. We will continue to investigate the physiological and pharmacological basis of this activity at different ages. We will also describe the spinal motor networks anatomical and physiological characteristic patterns. Any disturbance of the spontaneous activity by pharmacological means should induce modifications of these patterns, allowing inference to the role of this activity in the maturation of the networks. We will also study the effects of evoked activity on these patterns, using the trigeminal systems as a model, to compare the respective impact of each form of nervous activity. This research program is a necessary groundwork for a more thorough study of the physiological mechanisms underlying spontaneous activity, mechanisms which are largely unknown but which play an essential part in the maturation of the nervous system.

神经活动在神经系统的发育中起着重要作用，但所涉及的机制在很大程度上仍然是未知的。这种活动可以分为两种不同的形式：“自发”活动，这是内在的神经网络在发展过程中产生的，和“经验依赖”的活动，这是由网络的外部刺激产生的。自发活动是一种非常早期的现象，与神经结构发育的几个阶段（轴突生长，突触发生）有关。自发活动的早熟表达解释了在哺乳动物中，它主要是在发育较晚的结构（视网膜，皮层）中进行研究。由于实验模型的错误，早期发育的结构，如脊髓运动网络，在很大程度上被忽视了。我们使用一个原始的哺乳动物模型，负鼠Monodelphis南极洲，允许实验研究的自发活动的机制，通过不同的方法（解剖学，生理学，药理学和行为）。使用体外脑干脊髓制备，我们已经表明，自发活动在出生后胚胎的脊髓中表达，并开始研究其产生的机制。我们将继续研究不同年龄的生理和药理学基础。我们还将描述脊髓运动网络的解剖和生理特征模式。通过药理学手段对自发活动的任何干扰都应引起这些模式的改变，从而推断这种活动在网络成熟中的作用。我们还将研究诱发活动对这些模式的影响，使用三叉神经系统作为模型，以比较每种形式的神经活动的各自影响。这项研究计划是一个必要的基础，为更彻底的研究自发活动的生理机制，机制，这是在很大程度上是未知的，但在神经系统的成熟发挥了重要作用。