| Project/Area Number |
21K20687
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Review Section |
0704:Neuroscience, brain sciences, and related fields
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| Research Institution | Nagoya University |
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Principal Investigator |
Huang Tzu Ting 名古屋大学, 理学研究科, 特任助教 (00909848)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2021-08-30 – 2023-03-31
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥600,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
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| Keywords | Decision-making / Associative learning / C. elegans / GPCR kinase / Neural circuit / decision-making / associative learning / sensorimotor control / neural circuit / Neural circuits / Sensorimotor control / Action-planning |
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| Outline of Research at the Start |
Individuals make different decisions in exactly the same environment depending on their experiences. Through genetic screens and neuronal imaging, we will elucidate genetic and circuit determinants for decision-making and sensorimotor coordination in an experience-dependent learning paradigm.
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
How do animals select among various behavioral and environmental alternatives based on behavioral goals and experiences? From a screen for mutants defective in maintaining isothermal tracking behavior, we found mutants carrying null mutations in the G-protein coupled receptor kinase gene failed to maintain isothermal tracks at the cultivation temperature. grk-1 expresses broadly in the nervous systems, including the thermosensory neurons AFD, AWC, the interneurons AIY, and RIA. However, simultaneously expressing grk-1 in AFD, AWC, AIY, and RIA was insufficient to restore the isothermal tracking defect in the grk-1 null mutant. Subsequent analyses identify a glutamatergic interneuron is partially involved in maintaining isothermal tracking through grk-1 signaling. Our study provides genetic insights into the precise sensorimotor computation of goal-driven behaviors in a dynamic environment.
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
We identify a GPCR kinase involved in the decision-making process to keep tracking along a preferred temperature with food experience. A similar mechanism may share with the reward system in the human brain; therefore, it could serve as a potential medical target for psychiatric disorders.
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