Abstract - Michael Cleary
Altered gene expression is an understudied feature of activity-dependent neuromodulation that can tune or even change neural circuits. Standard methods for measuring brain activity detect biochemical or metabolic changes that provide information that is complimentary to transcription profiles. Our technology will allow context-dependent transcription profiles to be overlayed on connectome maps and incorporated into behavioral studies. In this technique, non-invasive delivery of a nucleotide precursor is coupled to behaviors known to involve neuromodulation (e.g. drug addiction, learning). The nucleotide precursor is only incorporated into nascent mRNAs in neurons or glia engineered to express a combination of nucleotide salvage enzymes that are absent from metazoans. Our method provides significantly greater specificity and sensitivity than currently available techniques. During the pilot year, we will optimize and validate this technology using the invertebrate model Drosophila melanogaster. Work in Drosophila will allow activity-dependent transcription responses to be mapped onto well-defined adult brain circuits. This technology is easily scalable to other systems and in future years will be applied to studies in the mouse brain. Ultimately, data derived from this technology is likely to provide new markers of brain function in humans and a deeper understanding of contextdependent brain physiology.
AWARDS
| Principal Investigator | Institution | Title | Abstract |
| Andersen, Richard | California Institute of Technology | Engineering Artificial Sensation | View |
| Andrews, Anne | University of California, Los Angeles | Nanoscale Neurotransmitter Sensors | View |
| Bloodgood, Brenda | University of California San Diego | A novel toolkit for visualizing and manipulating activity-induced transcription in living brain. | View |
| Chaumeil, Myriam | University of California, San Francisco | In vivo metabolic imaging of neuroinflammation using hyperpolarized 13C | View |
| Cleary, Michael | University of California, Merced | Capturing physiological maps of neural gene expression | View |
| Cohen, Bruce | University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Nano-optogenetic control of neuronal firing with targeted nanocrystals | View |
| Dai, Hongjie | Stanford University | Deep brain imaging of single neurons in the second near-infrared optical window | View |
| Hall, Drew | University of California, San Diego | Magnetic Monitoring of Neural Activity using Magnetoresistive Nanosensors | View |
| Krubitzer, Leah | University of California, Davis | An integrated system to monitor, image, and regulate neural activity | View |
| Kubby, Joel | University of California, Santa Cruz | Three-Photon Microscopy with Adaptive Optics for Deep Tissue Brain Activity Imaging | View |
| Melosh, Nicholas | Stanford University | Parallel Solid State Intracellular Patch-Clamping with Biomimetic Probes | View |
| Park, B. Hyle | University of California, Riverside | Label-free 4D optical detection of neural activity | View |
| Portera-Cailliau, Carlos | University of California, Los Angeles | High-speed interrogation of network activity with frequency domain multiplexing | View |
| Shanechi, Maryam | University of Southern California | Control-Theoretic Neuroprosthetic Design Using Electrocorticography Signals | View |
| Smith, Will | University of California, Santa Barbara | Whole brain imaging in a primative chordate | View |
| Wood, Marcelo | University of California, Irvine | Epigenetic PET tracer for cross-species investigation of age-related memory dysfunction | View |