Descrizione del progetto
Analisi della funzione del cervelletto
Il cervelletto è la struttura che si trova nella parte posteriore del cervello ed è responsabile del movimento, dell’apprendimento motorio e della cognizione. I neuroni nei nuclei cerebellari profondi collegano il cervelletto con molte regioni del cervello e assistono nell’attività motoria. Il progetto DeepPop, finanziato dall’UE, è volto a comprendere come queste informazioni provenienti da altre parti del cervello si integrano nei neuroni dei nuclei cerebellari profondi. I ricercatori applicheranno tecniche moderne e prenderanno in considerazione prove recenti sulla struttura del nucleo cerebellare profondo per studiare i calcoli neurali che avvengono nel cervelletto. I risultati faranno progredire le nostre conoscenze sui sistemi sensorimotori e contribuiranno a spiegare in che modo la disfunzione cerebellare sia responsabile di una vasta gamma di disturbi.
Obiettivo
The cerebellum is a key structure of the central nervous system that contains more than half the neurons of the brain. It is highly conserved across vertebrates and crucial for coordinated movement, motor learning and cognition. Cerebellar dysfunction causes a wide range of motor (ataxia, dystonia) or non-motor (autism, schizophrenia) disorders. It is made of two structures: the cerebellar cortex and the Deep Cerebellar Nuclei (DCN). While the former has been thoroughly studied, the DCN - the actual output of the structure - are much less understood. Technological limitations and experimental difficulties have limited the study of DCN processing rules both at the cellular and at the population level. A multidisciplinary approach combining recent discoveries on DCN structure, modern cell type labelling strategies and optogenetics, and novel optical tools based on work performed during my first postdoctoral project (acousto-optic 2-photon imaging coupled with GRIN lenses) will address the following fundamental open questions that limit our understanding of sensorimotor systems: 1) How are inputs carrying sensorimotor information from different parts of the brain (mossy fibres (MFs) and climbing fibres (CFs)) integrated by individual DCN neurons? 2) How are CFs and MFs carrying different sensory modalities processed by DCN neurons at the neuronal and dendritic levels? And how does it relate to distinct DCN neuron subpopulations? 3) What is the dynamic of these subpopulations during a behavioural task in vivo? The outcome of the DeepPop project will provide new knowledge of the computations performed in the cerebellum, novel optical solutions to study deep brain structures and data that will be used by the wider community (e.g. modellers, theoretician, clinicians) and increase our general understanding of sensorimotor systems.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
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Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
75794 Paris
Francia