Project description
Rethinking the brain’s hidden players
Neurons are no longer believed to be the only parts of the brain responsible for thought and behaviour. Recent research shows that star-shaped cells called astrocytes play an active role in how we think. What we still do not know is how they process information. The ERC-funded ASTROCODE project aims to use ‘mini-microscopes’ to watch astrocytes in action within the brains of mice as they make choices. The project will explore whether astrocytes form their own ‘thoughts’ or patterns that guide behaviour. Experiments in which a computer triggers specific stimuli the moment it detects a certain pattern in the astrocytes will also be used. The findings could show whether astrocytes are a key part of our mental machinery.
Objective
A major challenge in neuroscience is uncovering the mechanisms that give rise to the brain's cognitive abilities. Cognitive functions create internal representations (meaningful signals about their external environment or internal state) and perform computations on them to drive behaviours and physiological changes. Research on cognitive functions has primarily focused on neurons. Astrocytes, once seen as passive support cells, now are known to respond to and influence neuronal activity and behaviour. They have been shown to regulate circuits responsible for cognitive functions, however, it remains unclear whether they are integral elements of, or external modulators to, cognitive circuits responsible for information storage and processing. I will leverage my multidisciplinary training and recent advances to unravel the role of astrocytes in cognitive functions and determine whether astrocytes generate distinct representations carrying specific information used in circuit computations to guide behaviour.
In AstroCode, I will image astrocytic activity using state-of-the-art two-photon mini-microscopes in freely moving mice performing a behavioural task involving stimuli of opposite valence to determine the specificity of the information encoded in astrocyte activity. Then, I will explore the functional specificity of astrocytic control over neuronal activity, studying the astrocytic involvement in the generation of distinct neuronal representations and in the selection of different adaptive behaviours. Moreover, I will use an innovative strategy to determine the functional role of naturally occurring astrocyte calcium signals in cognitive functions: a closed-loop stimulus-state strategy, in which sensory stimuli are delivered based on the presence of specific patterns of astrocytic activity
AstroCode aims to clearly determine the astrocyte role in information processing, providing a unique strategy to advance our understanding of the brain’s cognitive mechanisms.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology cognitive neuroscience
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry alkaline earth metals
- natural sciences computer and information sciences data science data processing
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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.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) ERC-2025-STG
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28006 MADRID
Spain
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