Objective
Schizophrenia is a psychiatric illness affecting nearly 1% of the population that is though to arise as a consequence of abnormal brain development. Structural deficits are relatively subtle in schizophrenia; however, there is evidence for a reduced volume of the neocortex, probably linked to perturbed development of the neuropil, and significant alterations in GABAergic neurotransmission in patients with schizophrenia. Recent genetic studies suggest that Neuregulin-1 (Nrg1) and its receptor ErbB4 are susceptibility genes linked to the disorder. Interestingly, our preliminary observations demonstrate that ErbB4 is specifically expressed by GABAergic interneurons during the postnatal development of the cerebral cortex. The goal of this study is to determine the role of Nrg1/ErbB4 signalling in the maturation of GABAergic interneuron, using interneuron specific ErbB4 mutant mice, in order to get insights into the etiology of schizophrenia. We plan to address the function of Nrg1/ErbB4 using cell culture techniques, in utero manipulations and analyses of interneuron-specific ErbB4 conditional mutants. In brief, we will test whether Nrg1 influences the axonal development of control or ErbB4 mutant cortical interneurons in primary cultures. In addition, we will study the morphological development of individual ErbB4-deficient cortical interneurons in vivo, by in utero electroporation of Cre/GFP plasmids in the place of origin of most cortical interneurons, the medial ganglionic eminence. Furthermore, we will establish the role of Nrg1/ErbB4 in synaptogenesis both in cell cultures and in vivo, scrutinizing the development of GABAergic terminals in control and ErbB4 conditional mutants by confocal analysis, electron microscopy and electrophysiological techniques. Finally, we will address the role of ErbB4 in the regulation of gene expression in the cerebral cortex by comparing the transcriptional profile of the postnatal cortex from WT and ErbB4 conditional mutant
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.
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy electron microscopy
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry schizophrenia
- natural sciences chemical sciences electrochemistry bioelectrochemistry electroporation
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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)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
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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
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF
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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.
Coordinator
03202 Elche
Spain
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.