Objective
Pathological neuronal synchrony is the hallmark of many neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Huntington’s disease (HD), which further share deficits in cholinergic signaling. Moreover, recent findings have underscored the therapeutic relevance of the synchrony among striatal cholinergic interneurons (ChI) that orchestrate this signaling. They have shown that excessively synchronous ChI discharge induces di-synaptic release of dopamine, GABA and glutamate. Here, I propose to elucidate how ChI synchronization is generated under normal and pathological conditions and thereby identify novel therapeutic targets to treat PD and HD. This study has only very recently become feasible with the advent of powerful tools that I have mastered to explore ChI synchrony.
We will employ a combination of cutting-edge in vitro and in vivo techniques to simultaneously record a far larger population of pre-identified ChIs than is currently possible. We will express GCaMP6, a genetically encoded calcium indicator (GECI), exclusively in ChIs, and use multiphoton microscopy to image calcium transients from several ChIs simultaneously in conjunction with intracellular recording from individual ChIs in acute brain slices and in anesthetized mice. Additionally, we will use endoscopic GECI imaging in freely-moving classically conditioned mice. We will employ modern analyses that reveal low-dimensional structures in large neuronal datasets to quantify synchrony (1) during on-going activity; (2) during optogenetic activation of afferents; and (3), in the freely-moving mice, while presenting conditioned cues. Finally, we will study the origins of pathological synchrony in PD and HD mouse models and explore means to correct this condition. This comprehensive approach should explain the pathological ChI synchrony observed in PD; identify novel targets to treat PD and HD; and create a general methodology to study pathological synchrony in many other neurological disorders.
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 basic medicine neurology epilepsy
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry alkaline earth metals
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology genetic engineering
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology parkinson
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry schizophrenia
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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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) ERC-2014-CoG
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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.
91904 JERUSALEM
Israel
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.