Objective
Throughout lifetime a proper balance between excitation and inhibition is crucial for a healthy brain. How exactly this balance between excitation and inhibition is regulated in the brain is not well understood. One intriguing possibility is that glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic plasticity are not regulated separately, but somehow interact to maintain this balance. In the work proposed here we intend to examine whether plasticity of inhibitory and glutamatergic synapses interact with each other on a very local scale, i.e. within the dendrite. My research has two main objectives. (1) I ask whether excitation affects plasticity of inhibitory axons. I propose to examine at what spatial scale excitatory activity can affect turnover of GABAergic boutons. The area of activity manipulation will be systematically decreased (ranging from global manipulations to activation of individual dendritic inputs) and we will examine how these manipulations affect the formation and loss of GABAergic boutons at the site of manipulation. (2) I propose to examine how local inhibitory synaptic activity affects nearby plasticity of excitatory synapses. Potentiation at individual excitatory synapses will be induced by a glutamate uncaging protocol. A nearby inhibitory synapse (on the same dendrite) will be activated at specific intervals from the plasticity induction protocol and we will test whether this local inhibitory activity affects the induced excitatory plasticity. The proposed research involves the use of advanced imaging techniques, in combination with electrophysiology and using tools from molecular biology. The results of the proposed research will advance our understanding how the balance between excitation and inhibition in the brain is regulated. A better understanding of this crucial balance is fundamental to a wide variety of neuroscience disciplines, from computational and cellular neuroscience to clinical applications.
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 biological sciences neurobiology
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2009-RG
See other projects for this call
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
3584 CS Utrecht
Netherlands
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.