Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The adult mammalian brain is highly plastic structure, capable of remodeling in response to challenges imposed by an animal's outside world. One dramatic example of structural plasticity is the continual addition of new neurons to the existing circuitry, a process named adult neurogenesis. Hippocampal dentate granule cells are among the few neuronal cell types in the brain that are continuously generated throughout adulthood. Although the functional significance of hippocampal neurogenesis remains unclear, adult-born neurons have been shown to be important in mood regulation and in certain forms of learning and memory. Interestingly, altered or aberrant changes in neurogenesis have been implicated in a number of neurological pathologies associated with cognitive decline, such as Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, stroke, and epilepsy. Our work is focused on trying to understand how these pathological conditions impact the development of new neurons and affect their ability to integrate successfully into the surrounding neural circuitry. The equipment outlined in this proposal is essential for the completion of our research. The requested funds will allow for the purchase of an automated system and equipment that will allow us to examine a range of complex behavioral processes in chronically epileptic rodents (such as fear memory formation, pattern separation, and spatial and contextual learning) in order to determine how aberrant changes in neurogenesis impact behavior and cognition. In addition, we are also examining novel therapeutic approaches that may be capable of reversing abnormal neurogenesis, and hence improve cognitive performance.