Objective
Kainate receptors (KARs) are often regarded as the last frontier of glutamate receptor research, since much less is known about their physiological roles compared with that of the other glutamate receptor subtypes. This field of research is very important not just because of the unique role that KARs play in neuronal function, including specific forms of synaptic plasticity, but because of the increasing evidence that KARs are involved in a plethora of brain diseases and that KAR antagonists are promising novel therapeutic targets. I propose to lead a highly multidisciplinary approach, in collaboration with colleagues at Bristol and strategic collaborators worldwide, to develop novel pharmacological and genetic tools, which will be rapidly disseminated to the neuroscience community. These tools will be used here to test hypotheses regarding functions of KARs in granule cells (GCs) in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation, with a focus on mossy fibre long-term potentiation (LTP). We propose four interrelated objectives: (i) to develop potent and selective antagonists for the GluK2 subunit of KARs, (ii) to generate GC specific knockouts of the five KAR subunits, by floxing GluK1-5 and crossing with a GC-specific Cre recombinase mouse line, (iii) to use these and existing tools in a combined pharmacological and genetic approach, to understand the functions of KARs at mossy fibre synapses in acute and organotypic hippocampal slices. A new development will be to record simultaneously from synaptically coupled GC-CA3 neuronal pairs and to image Ca2+ from participating mossy fibre boutons, (iv) to extend these investigations to the study of mossy fibre function, in particular LTP, in anaesthetised animals and to establish the function of mossy fibre LTP in hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. Although highly ambitious, the proposal is based on a long track record of KAR research by the PI and his collaborators plus a substantial amount of preliminary data.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2013-ADG
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
BS8 1QU Bristol
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.