Arousal-induced noradrenergic signaling modulates cortical astrocyte-neuron circuits during ethanol consumption

我的职业目标是领导一个独立的研究项目，研究星形胶质细胞-神经元动力学， 觉醒和酒精使用障碍（AUD）。我从许多实验训练中受益 技术包括双光子显微镜，神经生理学，电路解剖学和行为。期间 在本补助金的指导阶段（K99），我将继续与我的共同导师，博士密切合作。 姆里甘卡·苏尔和埃琳娜·瓦齐Mriganka是皮层信息处理，神经元- 星形胶质细胞电路和光学技术。Elena Vazey是去甲肾上腺素信号，压力， 酒精相关行为和化学遗传学此外，我将从我的指导团队获得建议 由凯瑞·雷斯勒医生，石楠·理查森医生和托马斯·卡什医生组成他们的专业知识 包括压力病理生理学，酒精相关的处理，边缘系统和奖励回路， 神经调节和焦虑行为。我的指导团队提供的额外培训将使我 凭借概念和技术敏锐性，成为酒精领域的重要贡献者 行为和压力。这项培训将在大脑和认知科学部门完成， 麻省理工学院，它提供了一个充满活力的智力研究社区和广泛的研究 基础设施支持。在我的博士后研究期间，我开发了同时 成像星形胶质细胞神经元网络，研究星形胶质细胞在信息处理中的作用。这项工作使 研究星形胶质细胞如何影响去甲肾上腺素（NE）对皮层回路的神经调节。我有 发现了一个有趣的星形胶质细胞-神经元钙信号，反映了大脑皮层处理过程中的变化， 高度兴奋的时期此外，目前正在测试的药物在唤醒障碍和 AUD阻断了这些信号，这表明星形胶质细胞-神经元相互作用可能提供关键的见解 压力和AUD的病理生理学。我的近期目标是了解这些事件 与觉醒和饮酒行为的关系，并确定与异常NE的关系 release. (Aim 1）我将研究小鼠前额叶皮层（PFC）星形胶质细胞-神经元的加工， 积极饮酒对使用体内双光子成像。(Aim 2）我将确定NE在以下方面的作用 通过NE的药理学和化学发生学操作影响星形胶质细胞-神经元生理学 release. (Aim 3）最后，在R 00期，我将操纵星形胶质细胞特异性机制， 确定星形胶质细胞在觉醒介导的酒精消耗中的作用。这些实验将 阐明PFC中的星形胶质细胞-神经元失调如何与NE释放和AUD相关。

My career goal is to lead an independent research program studying astrocyte-neuron dynamics, arousal, and alcohol use disorder (AUD). I have benefitted from experimental training in numerous techniques including two-photon microscopy, neurophysiology, circuit anatomy, and behavior. During the mentored phase of this grant (K99), I will continue to work closely with my co-mentors, Drs. Mriganka Sur and Elena Vazey. Mriganka is an expert in cortical information processing, neuron- astrocyte circuits, and optical techniques. Elena Vazey is an expert in noradrenergic signaling, stress, alcohol-related behaviors, and chemogenetics. In addition, I will receive advice from my mentoring team consisting of Drs. Kerry Ressler, Heather Richardson, and Thomas Kash. Their combined expertise ranges across stress pathophysiology, alcohol-related processing, limbic and reward circuits, neuromodulation, and anxiety behaviors. The additional training from my mentoring team will equip me with the conceptual and technical acumen to become a significant contributor to the fields of alcohol behavior and stress. This training will be done within the Brain and Cognitive Sciences department at MIT, which provides both a vibrant intellectual research community and expansive research infrastructure support. During my postdoctoral fellowship, I developed novel methods of simultaneously imaging astrocyte-neuron networks to study astrocyte roles in information processing. This work led me to study how astrocytes affect neuromodulation of cortical circuits by norepinephrine (NE). I have found an intriguing astrocyte-neuron calcium signature that reflects a shift in cortical processing during periods of high arousal. Furthermore, the drugs that are currently being tested in arousal disorders and AUD block these signatures, suggesting that astrocyte-neuron interactions may provide crucial insight into the pathophysiology of stress and AUD. My immediate goals are to understand how these events relate to arousal and alcohol drinking behavior, and to determine the relationship with abnormal NE release. (Aim 1) I will study the astrocyte-neuron processing in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) while mice actively drink alcohol on using in vivo two-photon imaging. (Aim 2) I will determine the role of NE in affecting astrocyte-neuron physiology through pharmacological and chemogenetic manipulations of NE release. (Aim 3) Finally, during R00 phase, I will manipulate astrocyte-specific mechanisms to determine the role of astrocytes in arousal-mediated alcohol consumption. These experiments will clarify how astrocyte-neuron dysregulation in the PFC is related to NE release and AUD.