Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

ICS Travel Awards Following the birth of a child, early development is marked by profound changes in the child's brain structure. As the child grows, the brain undergoes dramatic growth, with neurons forming new connections and eliminating those that are superfluous. These alterations in the structure and function of the brain may be due to a 'programmed' maturation of the brain or come in response to stimulation that the child receives from his/her environment. If errors occur during this maturation, developmental disorders can result. What drives this brain maturation during early development is of intense interest to researchers. Scientists have found that variations in gene expression can control brain plasticity (or changeability). Genes can be considered to be a blueprint that contains all of the information needed for the proper development and day-to-day functioning of an individual's body. Genetic information is contained within a 'code' known as DNA. The DNA is contained within virtually every cell of the body. Particularly during early development, it is critically important for the genetic information to be accessed at precise times and places. But how is the genetic information controlled? Proteins, known as histones, organize the genetic information within the DNA and help control when the genes are 'read' and when they are 'turned off'. The aim of this research program is to understand how a particular subset of histone proteins, known as variants, control genetic information, and hence brain maturation, during early development. I have shown that the amount of histone variants varies during early development and this may be due to their having unique roles in regulating brain function. If we can understand the fundamental processes that govern healthy development, we will better know how diseases arise when errors occur to these processes that control brain function and growth.