Grant: Project Grant

Our research aims to further our understanding of the role of noradrenaline, which is a neurotransmitter present in most brain regions but has not been fully characterized. This lack of critical knowledge about noradrenaline's impacts on cognitive functions is due to the absence of tools that can precisely record or manipulate noradrenergic neuron activity. In this proposal, we will use an array of modern neuroscience techniques, including transgenic mouse lines, genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors, and two-photon imaging, to advance our comprehension of the noradrenergic system. We are particularly interested in its role in motor learning and how it impacts cortical circuits. To study this role in mice learning a motor task, we will track noradrenaline signals, characterize the activity of cortical interneurons of the superficial layers, and evaluate how noradrenergic dynamics impacts the activity of these interneurons. This will allow us to determine how noradrenaline modulates cortical circuits, which are densely innervated by noradrenergic axons and are critical for learning, perception, and cognition. The efficacy of drugs that enhance noradrenergic activity in treating the symptoms of learning disabilities, such as methylphenidate for attention deficit disorders, suggests a crucial role for the noradrenaline system in attention and learning. However, our limited comprehension of the effects of noradrenaline release on brain activity hinders progress in accurate diagnostics and treatments of these disorders. Therefore, at a broader level, this proposal aims to elucidate the noradrenaline function in the normal brain, which will provide crucial information for discerning its role in learning disorders and other conditions, such as anxiety-related disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder, which also implicate noradrenaline dysfunction.