Topographic representation of the sensory space in the brain is essential for sensory information processing and perception. The somatosensory and motor cortical maps in each hemisphere represent the contralateral body and the face. This is due to midline crossing of the ascending (sensory) and descending (motor) pathways at the level of the medulla or the pons. Genetic and developmental defects in midline crossing or injury at the crossing site severely affect sensory-motor information processing and actions in both animals and humans. In this proposal we use a region-specific gene deletion mouse model to study the consequences of partial crossing of the ascending somatosensory face pathway. Midline crossing defects in this mouse leads to bilateral face representation in the thalamus and subsequently in the somatosensory cortex. We will use this mouse model to investigate (a) morphological and electrophysiological properties of the pre and postsynaptic elements in the bifacial cortical map; (b) altered thalamocortical and corticocortical connectivity patterns in response to bilateral face representation; (c) behavioral consequences of this genetic mutation. A combination of molecular, morphological, electrophysiological, voltage-sensitive dye imaging and behavioral techniques will be used to elucidate mechanisms underlying the functional organization and behavioral manifestations of developmental injury-related or genetic defects in ascending somatosensory pathways.

Public Health Relevance

Perception of body and face sensations occurs through information processing in neural maps formed by somatosensory pathways of the brain. In particular, the neocortex has a disproportionate map of the face and body, which reflects the density of sensory receptors in the periphery. Sensory maps of each brain hemisphere process information from the opposite side of the body. Developmental injury or congenital defects in somatosensory pathways result in abnormal map formation. We will investigate the functional and behavioral consequences of such a map defect in a transgenic mouse model with duplicated face maps in each brain hemisphere.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS084818-03
Application #
9000176
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Gnadt, James W
Project Start
2014-02-01
Project End
2019-01-31
Budget Start
2016-02-01
Budget End
2017-01-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Maryland Baltimore
Department
Anatomy/Cell Biology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
188435911
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21201
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Tsytsarev, Vassiliy; Arakawa, Hiroyuki; Zhao, Shuxin et al. (2017) Behavioral Consequences of a Bifacial Map in the Mouse Somatosensory Cortex. J Neurosci 37:7209-7218
Tang, Qinggong; Lin, Jonathan; Tsytsarev, Vassiliy et al. (2017) Review of mesoscopic optical tomography for depth-resolved imaging of hemodynamic changes and neural activities. Neurophotonics 4:011009
Tsytsarev, Vassiliy; Akkentli, Fatih; Pumbo, Elena et al. (2017) Planar implantable sensor for in vivo measurement of cellular oxygen metabolism in brain tissue. J Neurosci Methods 281:1-6
Nag, Okhil K; Stewart, Michael H; Deschamps, Jeffrey R et al. (2017) Quantum Dot-Peptide-Fullerene Bioconjugates for Visualization of in Vitro and in Vivo Cellular Membrane Potential. ACS Nano 11:5598-5613
Tang, Qinggong; Tsytsarev, Vassiliy; Frank, Aaron et al. (2016) In Vivo Mesoscopic Voltage-Sensitive Dye Imaging of Brain Activation. Sci Rep 6:25269
Tsytsarev, Vassiliy; Pumbo, Elena; Tang, Qinggong et al. (2016) Study of the cortical representation of whisker frequency selectivity using voltage-sensitive dye optical imaging. Intravital 5:e1142637

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