Project description
Preparing for motherhood: pregnancy shapes information processing in the brain
A pregnant woman’s brain undergoes dramatic remodelling caused by hormones, which are thought to orchestrate the behavioural and physiological adaptations necessary for infant care. Despite the scale of these effects, there is a lack of knowledge about the neural mechanisms by which pregnancy affects the brain. The EU-funded PregnantBrain project will employ a multidisciplinary approach to uncover the molecular, cellular and circuit-level mechanisms of pregnancy hormone action in a mouse model. The research will focus on aspects of parenting, feeding and aggression affected by pregnancy to reveal mechanisms of the neural adaptations during the gestation period. The study will provide novel and generalisable insights into how physiological states shape information processing in the brain.
Objective
An expectant mother’s brain undergoes dramatic structural remodeling during pregnancy. These changes are thought to be elicited by hormones, orchestrating the behavioural and physiological adaptations necessary for infant care. Despite the scale of these effects, we know little about the neural mechanisms by which pregnancy affects the brain. Recent methodological advances now offer the exciting opportunity to address these questions. This project will use a multidisciplinary approach to uncover the molecular, cellular and circuit-level mechanisms of pregnancy hormone action in a mouse model.
We will first focus on which aspects of parenting, feeding and aggression are affected by pregnancy – and over which time course these behavioural adaptations occur. This will provide important clues about the nature of underlying neural plasticity mechanisms. Next, we will determine which nodes of the circuits controlling these behaviours are sensitive to pregnancy hormones. This will then allow us to address the functional consequences of pregnancy at the network level, using in vivo calcium imaging approaches. Finally, we will study the biophysical and cellular mechanisms underlying pregnancy hormone action in genetically defined neurons, through a combination of electrophysiology and transcriptomic profiling.
By integrating these complementary lines of evidence, we aim to obtain a mechanistic understanding of the neural adaptations occurring during pregnancy. I believe that these innovative studies will generate novel and highly generalizable insights into how physiological states shape information processing in the brain.
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 chemical sciences inorganic chemistry alkaline earth metals
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine obstetrics
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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)
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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-STG - Starting 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-2019-STG
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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.
NW1 1AT London
United Kingdom
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.