Intuitively it is reasonable to agree that even when all the reactants are the same the biochemical reactions that take place in a laboratory test tube should probably differ from those that take place in highly complex neurons. The purpose of this project is to develop a theoretical framework to understand the fundamental structural properties of neurons that can completely modify the outcome of the biochemical reactions that are at the foundation of learning and memory. This project will make use of computer simulations that to study how the structure of the surface and interior of neurons affects molecular reactions involved in memory formation. A branch of mathematics, called fractional calculus, will be used to generalize the findings of the simulations. The same formalism will be extended to study how neurons express proteins or how networks of neurons interact with each other. The project will generate knowledge to study the outcome of experiments aimed at understanding memory formation, complex proteins networks, and information processing in the cerebellum; this work will also provide a unified mathematical framework to understand the exquisite interaction between biochemical signals and the complex structure of neurons in which they take place. The knowledge generated will be disseminated with a computational toolbox that can be used in any area of biology interested in complex systems, from biochemistry to ecology. This proposal will provide training opportunities to minority bilingual undergraduates not only in the scientific aspects of the project but also to develop Wikipedia pages in Spanish to help the American Hispanic population get better access to scientific information in neuroscience and biophysics. The project will also allow the training of a graduate student and post-doctoral fellows which will enrich the academic environment of UTSA, a Hispanic serving institution.
