| Project/Area Number |
23KF0287
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows
|
| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
|---|
| Section | 外国 |
|---|
| Review Section |
Basic Section 46010:Neuroscience-general-related
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
Kuhn Bernd 沖縄科学技術大学院大学, 光学ニューロイメージングユニット, 教授 (90599557)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TEPPOLA-GUREL HEIDI 沖縄科学技術大学院大学, 光学ニューロイメージングユニット, 外国人特別研究員
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2023-11-15 – 2026-03-31
|
| Project Status |
Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
|
| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2025: ¥400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000)
Fiscal Year 2024: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000)
|
|---|
| Keywords | early-life stress / two-photon imaging / astrocytes / layer 5 neurons / calcium imaging / somatosensory cortex / anxiety |
|---|
| Outline of Research at the Start |
Heidi will learn all the necessary techniques from my lab members. She will start behavior experiments simultaneously. Then she will combine the techniques and collect an initial imaging data set. After analyzing the date, Heidi will do a second data collection, analyze and write the paper.
|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Preliminary results show that early life stress (ELS) significantly reduces weight gain in mice 21 days after birth. I tested repeatedly during early adulthood. Results from several behavioral studies show a trend that ELS increases anxiety-like behaviour in mice in adulthood. The demanding technique of craniotomy surgeries with viral injections and mounting of a chronical cranial window with access port have been learnt and majority of them have been successful.
The first functional calcium imaging trials with our home built two-photon microscopes of layer 5 pyramidal neurons show that the planned design works, but details need to be finetuned. I was able to image somata and dendrites in awake behaving animals for an extended time repeatedly. Deep imaging was possible with good quality. I was able to record from up to 100 neurons. Imaging data was collected and will now be analyzed.
|
| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
I have established an early-life stress (ELS) protocol and breeding of transgenic mice line and exposed half of the bred mice to ELS using limited bedding and nesting combined with maternal separation. I have weighed the control and stress mice on days 4,8,10,12,14,21,28,35 and 42 after birth to investigate weather ELS influences mice weights. Three types of behavioural experiments (open field, light-dark transition, elevated plus maze) have been conducted to measure whether ELS affects anxiety levels in adult mice. I have learnt and performed several craniotomy surgeries on the somatosensory cortex and neuron and astrocyte virus injections in adult mice. I have performed 2-photon microscopy for functional calcium imaging of astrocytes and neurons in awake mice.
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Next, I will perform more craniotomy surgeries and virus injections for all breed transgenic ELS-exposed mice and control mice. In addition, all 40 mice will be subjected to behavioural tests. I am planning to measure plasma corticosterone levels from blood to determine the impacts of ELS on the levels of stress hormone. Additionally, I am planning to measure the restricted diffusion of water in brain tissue to determine structural information of brain tissue with ex vivo diffusion tensor imaging MRI technique from control and early-life stress exposed adult mice. In parallel, I will start analyzing the calcium imaging data.
|
