Description du projet
Un aperçu mécanique et fonctionnel des cellules de grille du cerveau
Les cellules de grille situées dans le cortex entorhinal du cerveau sont responsables de la navigation dans l’espace. Les représentations analogues aux cellules de grille (GCLR) peuvent être enregistrées de manière non invasive grâce à l’imagerie par résonance magnétique fonctionnelle (IRMf) et semblent être affectées dans la maladie d’Alzheimer (MA). Le projet GridRepresentations, financé par l’UE, entend examiner les mécanismes cellulaires et la pertinence fonctionnelle des GCLR. Les scientifiques examineront également la manière dont la défaillance des GCLR peut être liée à la pathologie de la MA et si elle peut être traitée par le biais d’un traitement pharmacologique. Les résultats du projet offriront un aperçu fondamental du rôle fonctionnel des cellules de grille dans la santé et la maladie, ouvrant la voie à de nouvelles approches de diagnostic et de thérapie pour la MA.
Objectif
The entorhinal cortex contains grid cells, a major cell type underlying spatial navigation. At the same time, it is amongst the first areas of the brain to be affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In humans, grid cell-like representations (GCLRs) have been proposed as a network-level signature of grid cells that can be recorded non-invasively via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). I have recently demonstrated that there is a disruption of GCLRs in genetic AD risk carriers at young age, and suggested GCLRs as a novel biomarker for early disease processes in AD. However, the relationship between GCLRs at a network level and grid cells measured at the single-neuron level is still unknown, as is the pathophysiological relevance of the impaired GCLRs and of compensatory hyperactivity in other navigational systems. In the translational research program proposed here, I aim to unravel the cellular mechanisms, functional relevance, and pathological impact of grid cell-like representations in humans.
My specific objectives are to (1) provide the first validation of GCLRs, by directly relating GCLRs at the network level to single unit activity of individual neurons recorded via microelectrodes in epilepsy patients; (2) clarify the functional relevance of GCLRs and complementary navigational systems for spatial behavior via layer-resolved ultrahigh field (7T) fMRI; (3) determine whether impairments of GCLRs and compensatory recruitment of other navigational strategies are related to AD pathology, using tau- and amyloid-PET imaging in AD risk carriers; and (4) restore impaired GCLRs via a pharmacological intervention, which may constitute a novel therapeutic option for modifying early AD. These studies will provide the first detailed understanding of the neural mechanisms and functional role of grid cells in humans across several levels of brain organization and pave the way for novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to AD.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitution d’accueil
44801 Bochum
Allemagne