Research Project
6708336
It is often averred in the Life Sciences that we are not short of questions; rather, we are limited by the availability of technologies to address these questions. During the past decade several new technologies have been developed to address biological problems. However, barriers to using these newly-developed technologies are often considerable for the individual investigator. The goal of this Center is to provide a centralized and staffed facility to allow both the expert and the novice to use the most modern research tools in their studies, and to equip these instruments for dynamic imaging in physiological studies. We will develop a Center around three cores Dynamic Imaging Core, containing, two two-photon microscopes, spectral detection confocal microscopes, total internal reflectance fluorescence microscope together with photolysis attachments; Data Analysis Core that will provide opportunities for off-line analysis of all data collected with the Center's microscopes, and Consultation Core for new and established users of the Center's Dynamic Imaging Core. The goals of this Center fall into three scientific clusters: I) Neuronal Development, in which ot projects will investigate problems ranging from stem cell biology to neuronal migration and synapse formation, lI) Regulation of Ion Channels and Synaptie Transmission, in which our studies include protein-protein interactions controlling calcium channel activity, the spatial distribution of receptors, and the localization of synapses controlling neuronal networks, and Ill) Gila-Neuron Interactions, in which we will investigate calcium signaling in astrocytes, the roles of ion channels in myelination, and the role of glial-released messengers in synapse formation. Establishing this Dynamic Imaging Center will catalyze new studies and augment existing studies in the 21 qualifying N1NDS-funded laboratories (including 34 N1NDS grants) that comprise this Center. The resultant synergistic interactions between faculty members will revolutionize our ability to study basic functions of the nervous system function and will ultimately enhance our understanding of these functions in human health and disease.
