Horizon 2020 (2014 - 2020)

Reverse engineering the assembly of the hippocampal scaffold with novel optical and transgenic strategies

Last update: May 12, 2022 Last update: 12 May, 2022

Details

Locations: France
Start Date: Jul 1, 2021
End Date: Jun 30, 2027
Contract value: EUR 9,091,074
Sectors: Research, Science & Innovation Research, Science & Innovation
Categories: Grants
Date posted: May 12, 2022

Associated funding

Associated experts

Description

Programme(s): H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Topic(s): ERC-2020-SyG - ERC Synergy Grant

Call for proposal: ERC-2020-SyG

Funding Scheme: ERC-SyG - Synergy grant

Grant agreement ID: 951330

Project description: Studying the hippocampus from a developmental perspective
The hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for learning, emotions and memory formation. Emerging evidence suggests that development plays a key role in hippocampus function. HOPE is an EU-funded initiative that aims to investigate the neural circuits of the hippocampus and whether they are formed during development or are shaped by experience. The project will develop innovative methods that allow the tracing of genetically marked neuronal clones from birth into adulthood. In this way, HOPE will shed light on the emergence and plasticity of neural circuits in both physiological and pathological contexts

Objective: We aim at shedding a unique light on hippocampal function at circuit level through the design of a novel method to trace the construction of brain circuits in health and disease based on hybrid multiphoton in vivo longitudinal color imaging of the dynamics and structure of genetically-tagged neuronal clones from birth into adulthood. This is made possible by the exceptional interdisciplinary collaboration of three labs with expertise in advanced optical microscopy, genetic engineering and systems developmental neuroscience. Our novel methodology, applied here to the hippocampus, will pioneer a new way to track the emergence and plasticity of heterogeneous neuronal circuits as these progressively give rise to function in physiological and pathological contexts, thus bridging the gap between early development and adult circuit physio-pathology. This will enable us to revisit adult hippocampal function from a developmental perspective. The hippocampus is classically described as providing a cognitive map of space, involved in navigation, learning, and episodic memory. However, a more computational and less representational vision of its role presently emerges in which its circuits are best described as producing sequences of neuronal activation arising from the interaction between external contextual inputs and internally-generated preconfigured dynamics. Converging work including ours leads us to hypothesize that internally preconfigured assemblies, shaped by their developmental journey, are the basic modules of hippocampal function. In this context, we will use our new approach to address three interrelated questions: 1) Are assemblies shaped by specific circuits in the adult hippocampus (objective A) 2) Are they prewired or shaped by experience (objective B) 3) What is their patho-physiological significance (objective C) Addressing these major issues raises a timely challenge in both optics and genetic engineering at the core of this synergistic proposal.

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