Objective
Neural circuits are constantly modified in response to experience and changes in the environment, a phenomenon known as plasticity. While classical Hebbian plasticity is crucial to encode information, a different set of mechanisms, commonly referred to as homeostatic plasticity, are used by neurons to stabilize their activity in the face of perturbations that alter excitability. Homeostatic plasticity plays a critical role during activity-dependent development of neural circuits, and it is frequently distorted in common psychiatric disorders, including autism, mental retardation and schizophrenia. However, in contrast to Hebbian plasticity, the molecular underpinnings of homeostatic plasticity are largely unknown. We hypothesize that microRNAs (miRNAs), a recently discovered class of regulatory small non-coding RNAs, might have a prominent role in homeostatic plasticity by fine-tuning the expression of critical synaptic proteins. Using a large activity-regulated miRNA cluster as a paradigm, we plan to identify functionally important miRNAs during homeostatic plasticity in vitro and in vivo, to elucidate their mode of regulation and to determine the relevance of perturbed expression of these miRNAs for psychiatric disease. Towards these aims, we plan to use a battery of innovative approaches, including miRNA loss-of-function screening, biological target discovery, time-lapse fluorescence imaging of miRNA activity, genetic manipulation of mouse models of psychiatric disease and systemic brain delivery of miRNA mimics. This project has far reaching implications for our understanding of homeostatic mechanisms in brain development and disease, and could open up new avenues for the treatment of prominent psychiatric disorders that arise from defective neural homeostasis.
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.
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology genetic engineering
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry schizophrenia
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
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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.
ERC-2010-StG_20091118
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.
Host institution
35037 Marburg
Germany
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.