Developmental Neurobiology Laboratory - Honours in 2010
An Honours project undertaken in this lab would be administered by the Discipline of Physiology.
Neural connections underlie every aspect of our behaviour. Understanding how the right sets of connections form in the developing brain, and the consequences of when these circuits wire together improperly, is the focus of work in our laboratory. Knowledge of the processes that regulate neural development has important implications for the development of treatments for early onset brain disorders such as autism, Rett's syndrome and mental retardation, and to promote regeneration following injury.
A large body of research has demonstrated that the patterns of connections which ultimately form are a product of both genetic factors and environment/experience. Recent work done in the lab has shown that the transmembrane protein Ten_m3 plays an important role in wiring up the visual pathway: in its absence, ipsilaterally projecting retinal axons are dramatically mistargeted. This leads to a misalignment in the information arising from each eye in visual brain centres. Functionally, this mistargeting of ipsilateral axons results in behaviorally measureable visual deficits.
Approaches used encompass molecular biological, neuroantomical, physiological and behavioural paradigms. Projects are available in the following areas:
Development and plasticity of the nervous system
Supervisor + contact details:
- Dr Catherine Leamey
- The visual pathway deficits which occur in Ten_m3 mutant mice present an ideal model to determine the relative roles of experience and molecular cues in generating neural circuits. Projects examining this issue are available.
- Ten-m3 is also expressed in other brain circuits. Specifically it is expressed in the basal ganglia _ a region that integrates sensori-motor information and is involved in planning actions. Projects that will examine potential alterations in basal ganglia circuitry are available.
- Current data suggests that Ten_m3 is able to regulate the expression of other proteins. We have recently performed a screen to identify potential candidates. Projects that will examine temporospatial expression patterns of select candidates are available.
- There is evidence to suggest that Ten_m3 may be able to modify the growth of not only pre-synaptic but also post-synaptic structures and may also modify synapses themselves. Projects that will examine these issues are available.
- Recent studies have shown that neural development can be profoundly influenced by experience. Modification of an animal's environment to make it more complex (called enrichment) can increase neuron and synapse number as well as improving cognitive function. Projects examining the molecular and anatomical effects of enrichment are available.
Some of these are offered as collaborative projects in association with Dr Atomu Sawatari's laboratory. Other projects associated with other aspects of development, such as neural plasticity, are also available on request.
