Descrizione del progetto
Esaminare il modo in cui il cervello degli animali codifica le informazioni
I codici temporali neurali ci aiutano a capire in che modo il cervello codifica le informazioni. Quando l’informazione viene trasmessa attraverso una precisa tempistica degli spike, classifichiamo il codice neurale come temporale. Attualmente non si sa se gli animali utilizzino questo specifico schema di codifica. La manipolazione della tempistica degli spike durante il comportamento animale pone notevoli criticità, ma tali ostacoli potrebbero essere superati con l’aiuto dell’optogenetica. La mosca è un sistema modello ideale per studiare i codici temporali grazie al suo numero limitato di neuroni, che consente una mappatura completa dell’attività neurale in tutti i neuroni rilevanti. Il progetto Temporal Coding, finanziato dal CER, si propone di indagare direttamente se gli animali utilizzano la codifica temporale e di chiarire i circuiti e i meccanismi responsabili della codifica dell’intensità.
Obiettivo
Neural temporal codes have come to dominate our way of thinking on how information is coded in the brain. When precise spike timing is found to carry information, the neural code is defined as a temporal code. In spite of the importance of temporal codes, whether behaving animals actually use this type of coding is still an unresolved question. To date studying temporal codes was technically impossible due to the inability to manipulate spike timing in behaving animals. However, very recent developments in optogenetics solved this problem. Despite these modern tools, this key question is very difficult to resolve in mammals, because the meaning of manipulating a part of a neural circuit without knowledge of the neural activity of all the neurons involved in the coding is unclear.
The fly is an ideal model system to study temporal codes because its small number of neurons allows for complete mapping of the neural activity of all the neurons involved. Since temporal codes are suggested to be involved in olfactory intensity coding, I will study this process. I will device a multidisciplinary approach of electrophysiology, two-photon imaging and behavior.
I aim to examine for the first time directly whether temporal coding is used by behaving animals and to unravel the circuits and mechanisms that underlie intensity coding. To do so, I will manipulate the temporal codes in behaving animals and examine whether the behavioral responses change accordingly. To guide this study I will generate three novel databases of: i. the temporal activity of all neurons involved in Drosophila olfactory intensity coding. ii. The functional connectivity between the two brain regions that are involved in the intensity coding and iii. behavioral responses to different odors and intensities.
Thus, this research will use cutting edge techniques to resolve a long standing basic question in neuroscience: how does the brain actually code information?
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-STG - Starting GrantIstituzione ospitante
69978 Tel Aviv
Israele