Date d'arrivée à l'ITMO : Vendredi 27 Janvier 2023
PhD position: optogenetic dissection of the dopaminergic control of brainstem locomotor circuits in mice
KEY WORDS
mice, neuroanatomy,dopaminergic neurons
CITY
Sherbrooke
COUNTRY
Canada
DETAILS OF THE OFFER
The locomotor role of dopaminergic cells is classically attributed to their ascending projections to the basal ganglia that project to brainstem locomotor circuits that controls locomotion. However, descending dopaminergic projections to brainstem locomotor circuits were uncovered (Ryczko et al. PNAS 2013, PNAS 2016, J Neurosci 2017, J Neurosci 2020). In lamprey, these descending projections increase locomotor activity. In mammals, their role remains to be determined.
The student will address this issue in mice using in vivo optogenetics and chemogenetics, movement analysis, patch-clamp electrophysiology and calcium imaging in brain slices, viral injections and neuroanatomy. The new knowledge will provide a better understanding of the relation between dopaminergic and locomotor neurons and help identify new clinical strategies to improve locomotor function in Parkinson’s disease.
