Template neuronal networks in developing neocortex

当我们年轻的时候，我们的大脑会对我们遇到的经历做出快速的反应。这决定了它将如何在我们的生活中发挥作用。一个例子是，与成年人相比，年幼的孩子能够更容易地学习语言；年轻人的思维非常适应能力。我的研究旨在了解年轻大脑中使其具有适应性的过程。神经细胞，或神经元，形成了进行大脑功能基础计算的电路。在我们生命的早期，先天和后天的共同作用影响了神经元连接成大脑回路的方式。自然界的作用是通过构建基本大脑结构的基因编码过程发挥作用的。这个基本结构充当培育部分的模板，因为我们遇到的经验导致基本模板结构发生变化。这些变化使大脑能够正常工作。令人惊讶的是，我们对模板回路的基本结构知之甚少，模板回路是在感觉体验之前形成的，然后进行调节。然而，理解这些模板是非常重要的，因为它们的性质将决定我们的经历能在多大程度上影响大脑功能。从某种意义上说，这种基本结构的特性决定了个体大脑之间的差异到底有多大。这项研究是专门为了调查年轻大脑中最早的模板电路是如何以及何时形成的，以及它们如何影响大脑电路发育的后天依赖阶段。神经细胞通过称为突触的结构进行交流。当一个回路发生变化时，比如当我们学习一门语言时，很大程度上是因为它的突触发生了变化。同样，当电路连接不正确时，如自闭症等某些神经疾病，很可能是突触出现了故障。因此，为了理解早期的模板电路，我们必须测量将它们连接在一起的突触。此外，这些突触可能会发生变化，这对模板电路的发展非常重要。测量电路结构的变化并不容易，因为有数百万个突触都混合在一起。因此，很难找到它们属于哪个赛道。我开发了一种新技术，可以定位连接哪些神经细胞，并分析连接它们的突触。这项技术使用了一种特殊类型的显微镜，可以非常精细地看到脑组织的深处。当突触和神经元在生命早期发育时，这种方法将被用来测量模板电路中突触和神经元的属性。

When we are young our brains develop rapidly in response to experiences we encounter. This determines how it will function throughout our lives. One example is that young children are able to learn languages easily compared to adults; young minds are very adaptable. My research is geared towards understanding the processes going on in the young brain that make it adaptable. Nerve cells, or neurons, form the circuits that do the computation that underlies brain function. Early in our lives, nature and nurture combine to influence the way the neurons become connected together into circuits in the brain. Nature's role works through the genetically-encoded processes that build basic brain structure. This basic structure acts as a template for the nurture part, as the experiences we encounter cause changes in the basic template structure. These changes allow the brain to work properly. Surprisingly, we know very little about the basic structure of template circuits that develop before sensory experiences then adjust them. However, it is very important to understand these templates because their properties will determine how much our experiences can influence brain function. In one sense, the properties of this basic structure define just how big the differences between individual brains can be. This study is specifically designed to investigate how and when the earliest template circuits form in the young brain and how they influence the nurture-dependent phase of brain circuit development. Nerve cells communicate through structures called synapses. When a circuit changes, such as when we learn a language, it is largely because its synapses change. Likewise, when a circuit is wired up incorrectly, as in certain neurological disorders like autism, it is likely that the synapses are at fault. Therefore, to understand early template circuits, we must measure the synapses that connect it all together. Also, there are likely to be changes in those synapses that are important for development of the template circuit. Measurement of changes in circuit structure is not easy because there are millions of synapses that are all mixed together. So, it is difficult to find which circuit they belong to. I have developed a new technique to locate which nerve cells are connected and to analyse the synapses that connect them. This techniques uses a special type of microscopy that can see deep inside brain tissue with very fine detail. This approach will be used to measure the properties of synapses and neurons within template circuits as they develop early in life.