Project description
Dissecting the cognitive paths in schizophrenia
The prefrontal cortex (PFC), located at the very front of the brain, plays a central role in cognitive behaviour and malfunctions in schizophrenia, a mental disorder characterised by hallucinations. Available medications fail to address cognitive symptoms, necessitating the discovery of novel treatments. To address this problem, the EU-funded CCKinPFC project proposes to investigate the neuronal abnormalities in schizophrenia and how they impact circuits in the brain linked to cognition. The findings of the project will provide a more specific mechanistic framework that can be further exploited to design novel therapeutic interventions against the disease.
Objective
Dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) contributes to cognitive deficits that represent the primary cause of disability associated with schizophrenia. However, currently available antipsychotic medications are only minimally effective for cognitive symptoms, demonstrating the need for better therapeutic targets. Treatments for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia remain underdeveloped in large part because the relevant physiological mechanisms remain unclear.
A major hypothesis is that in schizophrenia, GABAergic interneuron abnormalities, notably fast-spiking interneurons that express parvalbumin (PV) and generate gamma oscillations, disrupt PFC-dependent cognition in schizophrenia. PV interneurons are critical for synchronization of neural activity, but exactly how these oscillations are regulated remain unknown. Perisomatic inhibition from cholecystokinin (CCK) interneurons can alter properties of PV networks by regulating the likelihood to generate oscillations or to affect the frequency, duration, synchrony, spatial extent, or other properties of these oscillations. Yet their role in PFC is elusive and surprisingly little is known about their functional role in the emergence of gamma activity and cognition despite their structural control over their postsynaptic partners. My research plan has two aims: to characterize the circuit-specific activity dynamics of CCK interneurons in 1) PFC gamma oscillations and 2) cognition. I will use a multidisciplinary approach, combining in vitro and in vivo physiology, viral and transgenics strategies, pharmacology, fiber photometry, 2-photon imaging, and optogenetics to provide a more specific mechanistic framework for therapeutic intervention. I hypothesize that CCK interneurons significantly control the perisomatic region of pyramidal as well as PV neurons, thus contributing to the spiking properties that underlie gamma oscillations and ultimately, cognition.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology materials engineering fibers
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry schizophrenia
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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-2020
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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.
75654 PARIS
France
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.