Ananda Lewis
Pronouns: She/They
Research Mentor(s): Michael Roberts
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery / Medicine
Program: UROP
Session: Session 5 (2:40pm – 3:30pm)
Authors: Ananda Lewis, Yoani Herrera, Michael Roberts
Abstract
T-stellate cells in the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) are known to be the only source of direct input from the AVCN to the inferior colliculus (IC). T-stellate cells provide information about the duration, intensity, and frequency of sound. However, little is known about the specific neuron classes they synapse onto in the IC, and their synaptic distribution on the neurons they target remains unknown. Our lab has discovered NPY and VIP neurons, the first two identifiable neuron classes in the IC. Using NPY and VIP neurons we are able to look at circuitry in the IC in more depth. Electrophysiological recordings in the lab show that T-stellate cells provide excitatory input to both NPY and VIP neurons, and filling individual neurons with biocytin during these recordings allows us to fluorescently label them to be imaged with confocal microscopy. Confocal imaging allows us to reconstruct the anatomy of recorded cells and visualize T-stellate synapses in close proximity to those cells. Using Neurolucida software, we can create 3D models of the recorded neurons to measure where T-stellate synapses lie along the dendrites and investigate synapse volume and distribution along reconstructed neuron dendritic arbors. Obtaining anatomical evidence is essential to confirm the physiological data previously obtained and to determine the subcellular distribution of T-stellate synapses on VIP and NPY neurons.
