Objective
Survival and adaptation are dependent on an animal's ability to gain novel information in unfamiliar surroundings. Similar to other animal classes, mammals must use a variety of innate and learned exploratory strategies that are dictated by unpredictable or unknown circumstances. As the combination of emotional processes and planning of complex actions are essential for the development of such strategies, it can be hypothesized that strongly connected brain areas involved in emotions (the amygdala) and goal-directed behaviors (the dorso-medial striatum) have an implication on exploratory behavior. The intricate neuronal nature and brain area specificity in the controlling of such strategies, however, remain elusive. In order to functionally uncover the role of specific amygdala-striatal long-range projections in freely-exploring mice, our collaborative study will adopt a multidisciplinary approach by a) developing a multiple-compartment behavioral task to study the exact evolution of exploratory strategies in a novel environment starting from a familiar one, b) examining the neuronal encoding of amygdala-striatal projecting neurons during exploratory progression using a novel calcium imaging technique in freely-moving animals, and c) causally relating the role of pre- and post- neuronal ensembles to exploratory strategies applying a projection-specific optogenetic approach. Furthermore, the proposed project will employ state-of -the-art techniques to reveal the fine computational mechanism used by animals to explore their surroundings and to determine the neuronal encoding specific to brain-, cell- and projection-types. Our research will be beneficial not only for understanding the role of defined circuitries in behavioral variability caused by unpredictable circumstances and the ability to overcome these through the knowledge gained from past experiences, but also for the finding of a cure for complex psychiatric disorders including anxiety and depression.
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.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2015
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1400-038 LISBOA
Portugal
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.