Contextual Representation of Tactile Information in Mouse Primary Somatosensory Cortex

NIH Pandemic-Era Grants

Pandemic Era Grants

2024

↗ Live URL (may be dead)

Document text

Principal Investigator: Alan Joseph Emanuel
Organization: EMORY UNIVERSITY
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $241,530
Funding agency: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Career Plan and Environment of Career Development: Dr. Emanuel is a joint postdoctoral fellow in the laboratories of Drs. David Ginty and Chris Harvey who is dedicated to a career as an academic researcher. Drs. Emanuel, Ginty, and Harvey have developed a 12-point career development plan that will enable Dr. Emanuel's transition to an independent research position. This plan incorporates resources available at Harvard Medical School, including formal and informal training from the community within the Department of Neurobiology and the broader Harvard Medical School community. Formal training includes attendance at seminars on professional development and responsible conduct of research as well as engaging the wider scientific community with publication of manuscripts describing Dr. Emanuel's work and presentations at international meetings. Overall, this plan will optimally prepare Dr. Emanuel for the transition to an independent career. Research Plan: The goal of this project is to determine how the representation of complex features in primary somatosensory cortex are produced by cortical and subcortical neural circuitry and how these representations are adapted for the behavior of the animal. Specifically, the experiments in this proposal will use mouse genetic approaches and in vivo electrophysiology to address the neural underpinnings of speed, direction, and orientation tuning in primary somatosensory cortex (Aim 1). Combining in vivo electrophysiology with genetic manipulations and recording from primary somatosensory cortex will determine the extent to which these cortical representations are necessary for and adapt to performance of tactile behaviors (Aim 2). Finally, combining in vivo electrophysiology in freely moving animals with modern computer vision for monitoring behavior and the force applied to the skin will determine how neurons in primary somatosensory cortex are engaged during natural movements and environmental interactions (Aim 3). In all, these experiments will yield insight into the fundamental processes underlying sensory processing in the central nervous system.

Terms: <Address><Afferent Neurons><Animal Behavior><Animals><Area><Behavior><Behavior monitoring><Behavioral><Brain><Brain Nervous System><CNS Nervous System><Cats><Cats Mammals><Cell Communication and Signaling><Cell Signaling><Central Nervous System><Chronic><Cognitive Discrimination><Communities><Complex><Computer Models><Computer Vision Systems><Computerized Models><Custom><Cutaneous><Dedications><Detection><Development><Development Plans><Discrimination><Domestic Cats><Electrodes><Electrophysiology><Electrophysiology (science)><Encephalon><Environment><Feline Species><Felis catus><Felis domestica><Felis domesticus><Felis sylvestris catus><Genetic><Goals><Hereditary><Inherited><International><Intracellular Communication and Signaling><Investigators><Joints><Knowledge><Laboratories><Learning><Manuscripts><Mechanoreceptors><Mediating><Medulla Spinalis><Methods><Mice><Mice Mammals><Modeling><Modernization><Movement><Murine><Mus><Nerve Cells><Nerve Unit><Nervous System Diseases><Nervous System Disorder><Neural Cell><Neuraxis><Neurobiology><Neurocyte><Neurologic Disorders><Neurological Disorders><Neurons><Neurophysiology / Electrophysiology><Organism><Patients><Perception><Performance><Peripheral><Peripheral Nervous System><Position><Positioning Attribute><Postdoc><Postdoctoral Fellow><Primates><Primates Mammals><Process><Property><Publications><QOL><Quality of life><Research><Research Associate><Research Personnel><Research Resources><Researchers><Resources><Rewards><Role><Scientific Publication><Sensory><Sensory Neurons><Signal Transduction><Signal Transduction Systems><Signaling><Skin><Somatosensory Cortex><Speed><Spinal Cord><Stimulus><Structure><System><Tactile><Testing><Thalamic structure><Thalamus><Touch><Touch sensation><Training><Work><awake><behavioral monitoring><biological signal transduction><body movement><brain machine interface><career><career development><computational modeling><computational models><computer based models><computer vision><computerized modeling><customs><developmental><disability><electrophysiological><experiment><experimental research><experimental study><experiments><flexibility><flexible><gene manipulation><genetic approach><genetic manipulation><genetic strategy><genetically manipulate><genetically perturb><in vivo><insight><living system><loss of function mutation><mechanical device><medical college><medical schools><meeting><meetings><mouse genetics><neural><neural circuit><neural circuitry><neurobiological><neurocircuitry><neurological disease><neuronal><novel><optogenetics><post-doc><post-doctoral><post-doctoral trainee><prevent><preventing><recruit><research associates><response><responsible research conduct><school of medicine><sensory system><social role><somatosensory><somesthetic sensory cortex><synaptic circuit><synaptic circuitry><tactile sensation><thalamic>