Neuroendocrine control of synaptic connectivity.

PI：Buelow，Hannes E. 项目摘要 大多数动物的身体一般都是左右对称的。一些器官如心脏和 肝脏破坏了这种大体的解剖学对称性，而其他结构如大脑显示出表面的对称性。 两侧对称的解剖结构。尽管如此，很长一段时间以来人们都知道， 人脑具有不同功能，神经科学和心理学中的许多经典例子 显示了大脑功能不对称的重要性。例如，高阶认知能力，如 语言、空间方向、注意力和视觉处理在视觉中表现出左右（L-R）功能不对称性。 人类值得注意的是，许多神经精神疾病，包括自闭症谱系障碍，抑郁症， 精神分裂症和创伤后应激障碍显示出大脑侧化的缺陷，进一步强调了 侧化大脑功能的重要性。毫不奇怪，神经精神疾病通常具有遗传和， 因此可能是一个发展组成部分。这些条件中的大多数也受到环境的影响 这些因素，但环境如何与连接接口仍然在很大程度上是未知的。我们确定了一个 小杆线虫两对感觉神经元之间的不对称突触联系 根据经验而变化的优雅动物重要的是，这种连接是受控制的细胞-非- 通过胰岛素信号传导自主地从其他细胞中分离出来，而胰岛素信号传导又受到经验的调节。这提供了 在分子水平和单细胞分辨率上研究环境如何变化的范例 以依赖经验的方式对神经回路进行硬接线。这项提案的目的是调查 利用C. elegans作为一个模型系统。在 具体目标1，我们将确定经验改变连接性的机制。我们将 确定是否需要转录或翻译以及是否需要神经元活动， #21453;，以及在哪些细胞？在具体目标2中，我们将确定胰岛素信号传导在控制胰岛素抵抗中的作用。 突触连接具体来说，我们将测试哪些胰岛素样激动剂和拮抗剂的功能， 细胞影响连接的变化;受体在哪里起作用以及在哪种遗传背景下起作用。最后，在 具体目标3，我们将确定连接的变化如何转化为信息流的变化， 使用全脑钙成像和行为实验。总而言之，我们的研究计划旨在 建立机制，通过该机制，环境改变突触的硬接线和行为， 不对称突触连接的背景。

PI: Buelow, Hannes E. Project Summary The general body plan of most animals follows a bilateral symmetry. Some organs such as the heart and liver break this gross anatomical symmetry, while other structures such as the brain display a superficial bilaterally symmetric anatomy. Nonetheless, it has been known for a long time that the two hemispheres of the human brain serve distinct functions, and many classical examples in neuroscience and psychology have shown the importance of asymmetry in brain function. For example, higher order cognitive abilities such as language, spatial orientation, attention, and visual processing exhibit left-right (L-R) functional asymmetries in humans. Of note, many neuropsychiatric conditions including autism spectrum disorders, depression, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder display defects in brain laterality, further underscoring the importance of lateralized brain function. Not surprisingly, neuropsychiatric conditions often have a genetic and, hence possibly, a developmental component. Most of these conditions are also influenced by environmental factors, yet how the environment interfaces with connectivity remains largely unknown. We have identified an asymmetric synaptic connection between two pairs of sensory neurons in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans that changes in response to experience. Importantly, this connection is controlled cell-non- autonomously from other cells by insulin signaling, which in turn is regulated by experience. This provides a paradigm to investigate, on a molecular level and in single cell resolution, how the environment can change hardwiring of a neural circuit in an experience-dependent manner. The goal of this proposal is to investigate the developmental, plastic and functional aspects of this connection using C. elegans as a model system. In Specific Aim 1, we will determine the mechanisms by which experience changes connectivity. We will determine whether transcription or translation is required and whether neuronal activity is necessary and sufficient, and in which cells. In Specific Aim 2, we will determine the role of insulin signaling in controlling synaptic connectivity. Specifically, we will test which insulin-like agonists and antagonists function in which cells to effect the changes in connectivity; where the receptor functions and in which genetic context. Lastly, in Specific Aim 3, we will determine how changes in connectivity translate into changes in information flow and behavior using whole brain calcium imaging and behavioral experiments. In sum, our research program aims to establish the mechanisms, by which the environment changes synaptic hardwiring and behavior in the context of an asymmetric synaptic connection.