MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDIES OF NEURAL PLASTICITY IN SPACE

描述：（改编自申请人的摘要。）本申请 将检验这样一种假设，即在惯性环境改变的过程中， 在轨道飞行中，可塑性和适应性变化发生在 前庭器官的黄斑。研究的飞行部分将 涉及来自前庭神经的电生理记录， 大鼠对沿未指定方向沿着的（正弦）线性加速度的响应 轴。与此同时，将从其他动物身上采集黄斑， 形态学和解剖学检查，包括（a）连续 选择性黄斑区终末和感受野的重建 （B）谷氨酸的变化 黄斑突触的受体基因表达，（c）谷氨酸 受体蛋白在黄斑毛细胞，和（d）在耳锥的变化， 质量，使用扫描EM进行。这些实验的结果 将被纳入发展中的外周前庭模型， 系统

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from the Applicant's Abstract.) This application will examine the hypothesis that during the altered inertial environment of orbital flight, plasticity and adaptive changes take place within the maculae of the vestibular organs. The flight portion of the study will involve electrophysiological recordings from the vestibular nerve of the rat in response to (sinusoidal) linear accelerations along unspecified axes. In parallel, maculas will be harvested from other animals for morphological and anatomical examination, including (a) serial reconstruction of the terminals and receptive fields of selected macular regions using electron-microscopic techniques, (b) changes in glutamate receptor gene expression at macular synapses, (c) changes in glutamate receptor protein in macular hair cells, and (d) changes in the otoconial mass, performed using scanning EM. The results from these experiments will be incorporated into a developing model of the peripheral vestibular system.