Neuronal circuitry and plasticity of the spinal cord using in-vivo electrophysiology in transgenic mice

Objective

The development of transgenic mice affecting development of spinal cord circuitry or mimicking hereditary neurological motor disorders has necessitated the development of in-vivo adult mouse preparations for electrophysiology to bridge molecular biology with the pathophysiology of phenotypes. The first goal is the development and refinement of a “mouse in-vivo spinal cord preparation” for intracellular recordings and analysis of spinal circuitry in “acute experiments” and a preparation for chronic recording of EMG and kinematics. These will be used to identify specific patterns of inputs to motoneurones in the mouse including the Ia monosynaptic EPSP, presynaptic inhibition, reciprocal inhibition, recurrent inhibition, propioceptive and exteroceptive polysynaptic inputs as well as the intrinsic properties of motoneurones. The data will not only characterise synaptic connectively in the mouse which can be compared to other species but will serve as control data for the rest of the project. The second goal is the use of the preparations to study transgenic mice with specific manipulations affecting the development of spinal neuronal circuitry. 2 mice mutants developed by Thomas Jessell (New York) and Silvia Arber (Basel) will be used. In the Er81 mutant mouse lack of a transcription factor causes Ia propioceptive afferents to terminate prematurely in the intermediate spinal cord. The second mutant model lacks the presynaptic GABAergic terminals on Ia afferent inputs to motoneurones. The researcher will investigate the plasticity occurring as a consequence. The third goal is to use the preparations to study transgenic mice with genetic mutations similar to those underlying neurological disorders in humans. For this the researcher will investigate plasticity in mice with a mutation affecting the glycine receptor, mimicking hyperekplexia in humans. SOD-1 mutants, models of ALS will also be used to investigate excitability changes at central part of motoneurone

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.

• natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
• natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
• natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

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.

• FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008 - Marie Curie Action: "Intra-European Fellowships for Career Development"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008
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.

MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)

Coordinator