Maya Kiyak
Research Mentor(s): Kenneth Kwan
Mentor Department: Michigan Neuroscience Institute / Human Genetics
Authors: Maya Kiyak, Viktoria Kirschnerova
Session: Session 4 (1:00pm – 1:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 66
Abstract
The cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain, receives and processes sensory information from various parts of the body. In this project, we focused on how the system processing somatosensory information develops postnatally in a mouse model. During the first weeks of life, the cortex develops distinct areas called barrels through activity-dependent processes. The barrels are stereotypically organized to correspond one-to-one with each of the mouse’s whiskers. The barrels consist of incoming axons from thalamic neurons that push away resident cells in the 4th layer of the cortex as the axons synapse onto the receiving cells. This project focuses on how the barrels develop over the first few weeks of life and how layer 4 cortical cells change their morphology to accommodate the incoming thalamocortical axons. We use a special transgenic mouse with a green fluorescent reporter (GFP) expressed in thalamocortical axons, which enables us to visualize the barrels clearly. We also use a Cre-dependent sparse reporter called Morf3, which enables us to study the morphology of layer 4 cells. The results of this study will provide information about morphological changes during cortical development and barrel development in postnatal mice, providing a basis for further research on developmental disorders of the brain.
