Identification and plasticity of the vestibular area of the mouse cerebral cortex using flavoprotein fluorescence imaging

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K11319
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Otorhinolaryngology
• Research Institution: Niigata University
• Principal Investigator: OHSHIMA SHINSUKE 新潟大学, 医歯学系, 助教 (70632438)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 大脳前庭領野 / PIVC / マウス / イメージング / ガルバニック刺激

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Caloric stimulation was applied to C57BL / 6 mice, but the reproducibility of nystagmus findings was not high. Therefore, although there is no report on mice, we tried galvanic stimulation, which is a proven vestibular stimulation method in other animal species. The response of the cerebral cortex changed according to the stimulation frequency, and it was found that the vestibular area, which seems to be PIVC, responded to low-frequency stimulation, and the auditory cortex responded to higher-frequency stimulation. Next, a similar experiment was performed on GCaMP6 mice that can be imaged at several times the intensity of flavoprotein fluorescence. Similar to C57BL / 6 mice, the vestibular area, which seems to be PIVC, tended to respond to low-frequency stimulation, and the auditory cortex tended to respond to high-frequency stimulation, and the response intensity of imaging increased.

Free Research Field

医歯薬学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の目的の学術的意義は、聴覚や視覚、体性感覚刺激による前庭領野反応を測定し、前庭覚以外の刺激による前庭領野の可塑性メカニズムを明らかにすることであり、それによる社会的意義は中枢代償をより効果的に促す新たなめまいリハビリテーション法の開発が期待できることである。本研究の成果はマウス大脳前庭領野の可塑性メカニズムに迫ることはできなかったが、前庭領野の局在を示唆する所見を得たと考えている。