Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The New World common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is rapidly becoming popular as a powerful complement to canonical Old World primate (i.e., macaques) and rodent models (i.e., rats and mice) for preclinical modeling of the human brain in healthy and diseased states. The marmoset's fast sexual maturation, low inter-birth interval, and routinely observed chimeric twinning make it the leading candidate for transgenic primate models. The lissencephalic (smooth) marmoset cortex also offers the opportunity for laminar electrophysiological recordings and optical imaging. Owing to a well-developed frontal cortex, their prosocial behaviour, and the feasibility of creating transgenic marmosets, the marmoset holds tremendous promise as a nonhuman primate model for social cognition. The long-term goal of my NSERC funded research program is to advance our fundamental understanding of the neural basis of social cognition in primates. My short-term objectives for the next 5 years are to use ultra-high field fMRI at 9.4 Tesla in awake marmosets to: (1) Identify the marmoset mirror system using task-based fMRI (2) Identify the marmoset physical and social interaction analysis network using task-based fMRI (3) Use movie-driven fMRI to identify neural networks underling social cognition Our hypothesis is that social cognition networks in marmosets follow similar organization principles as in macaques and that marmosets possess dedicated brain circuits serving understanding of actions and social interactions. These studies will provide the foundation for invasive recording, manipulation, and inactivation techniques in marmosets. The data will also make substantial contributions to already existing neuroimaging data from humans and macaque monkeys that promises to transform cross-species comparative neuroscience.