9214089 Bishop This award supports Professor Georgia A. Bishop of Ohio State University and a postdoctoral associate to collaborate in neurobiological research with Dr. K. Q. Do of the Brain Research Institute of the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Dr. Bishop has been studying the anatomical distribution, brainstem origin and electrophysiological effects of several chemical messengers in the mammalian cerebellum. Dr. Do and her research group have worked on defining mechanisms of release and reuptake of various amino acids and peptides from brain tissue in vitro. Together they plan to study the mechanisms which regulate the release of the neuropeptide corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) from nerve terminals within the rodent cerebellum. Their approach combines their complementary expertise and facilities for physiological methods (Dr. Bishop) and biochemical techniques (Dr. Do). Dr. Bishop will work for several months in Dr. Do's well-equipped laboratory to begin the joint research and learn certain techniques which she will carry back to her research group in the U.S. for further use in coordinated but parallel studies. This research is an attempt to resolve technically challenging analytical problems in order to further our understanding of the role of neuromodulators in the central nervous system. CRF has been ascribed such a role; however, to date, there are no data available on the conditions under which this peptide is released from axon terminals. The goal of the proposed cooperative research, determining how CRF is released from terminals in the cerebellum, is a necessary step toward understanding how neuromodulators regulate the activity of neurons.
