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Project
Investigating the role of astrocytes and noradrenaline as critical regulators of neuronal circuit excitability. (FWOAL1042)
Proper information processing in the mammalian brain requires tight
regulation of neuronal excitability, which can be modified by so-called
neuromodulators, such as noradrenaline. Noradrenaline (NA) is
known to prime the healthy brain for sensory input and to facilitate
memory formation. However, hyperactivity of neurons is deleterious
and can lead to disease, of which the classic example is epilepsy.
Crucially, NA appears to dampen down excessive neuronal
excitability, exerting strong anti-convulsive effects in epilepsy.
However, the molecular and cellular basis of NA activity is unclear.
Neurons are only one type of cell in the brain. There is an increasing
amount of information suggesting that other cell types also have
critical functions in the adult brain. One of these cell types is the
astrocyte and there is strong circumstantial evidence linking these
cells to the activity of NA in the healthy and epileptic brain. The aim
of this project, therefore, is to investigate the precise role of
astrocytes and NA in regulating the excitability of neuronal circuits.
Establishing a central role for astrocytes in controlling
neuromodulator-mediated regulation of excitability would represent a
major finding in neuroscience, placing key aspects of brain activity
under direct astrocyte control, and providing new avenues to explore
for the development of next generation therapeutics..
regulation of neuronal excitability, which can be modified by so-called
neuromodulators, such as noradrenaline. Noradrenaline (NA) is
known to prime the healthy brain for sensory input and to facilitate
memory formation. However, hyperactivity of neurons is deleterious
and can lead to disease, of which the classic example is epilepsy.
Crucially, NA appears to dampen down excessive neuronal
excitability, exerting strong anti-convulsive effects in epilepsy.
However, the molecular and cellular basis of NA activity is unclear.
Neurons are only one type of cell in the brain. There is an increasing
amount of information suggesting that other cell types also have
critical functions in the adult brain. One of these cell types is the
astrocyte and there is strong circumstantial evidence linking these
cells to the activity of NA in the healthy and epileptic brain. The aim
of this project, therefore, is to investigate the precise role of
astrocytes and NA in regulating the excitability of neuronal circuits.
Establishing a central role for astrocytes in controlling
neuromodulator-mediated regulation of excitability would represent a
major finding in neuroscience, placing key aspects of brain activity
under direct astrocyte control, and providing new avenues to explore
for the development of next generation therapeutics..
Date:1 Jan 2022 → Today
Keywords:Noradrenaline, astrocytes, neuronal hyperexcitability
Disciplines:Cell signalling, Cellular interactions and extracellular matrix, Neurological and neuromuscular diseases, Neurophysiology, Neurosciences not elsewhere classified