Grant: Operating Grant

Proper development of the brain is the result of a collaboration between the expression of genetically encoded molecular guidance cues and the influence of sensory experience which refines the final connectivity. Neurodevelopmental disorders including autism and schizophrenia have been attributed to the failure of neuronal connectivity to refine correctly. We use the Xenopus tadpole as a simple vertebrate nervous system for studying developmental brain refinement. Because this animal is amenable to live imaging and electrical recordings in the intact animal, we have been able to directly observe (and perturb) the dynamic remodeling of brain circuits in response to specific sensory inputs during development. This proposal will use novel technological innovations to develop a better understanding of the process of experience-dependent refinement of neural circuits and the mechanisms that underlie these key developmental events.