Analysis of Activity Dependent Mechanisms of Neuronal Differentiation

描述（由申请人提供）：电活动和钙信号传导在指导神经递质规范方面具有重要作用。自然视觉刺激引起的电活动变化会触发神经元中神经递质的出现，这些神经递质通常会产生不同的神经递质。这些过程的许多研究都是在细胞培养中进行的，为了解发育中的神经元的能力提供了重要的见解。然而，最终，我们想了解分化是如何在体内进行的。拟议的研究有三个具体目标，重点是了解青蛙（非洲爪蟾）幼虫完整神经系统中的这些过程，这有助于行为，细胞和分子分析。本研究的直接目标是测试的假设，激活的神经回路的自然嗅觉刺激导致神经元中的神经元的递质重新指定与相应的变化，由激活的电路控制的行为，并涉及特定的分子机制。这项研究的长期目标是了解神经网络激活如何用于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.