General

Central research topic - The molecular and structural mechanisms of plasticity in mammalian neocortex

The development of the mammalian brain is genetically and environmentally driven. An essential and unique feature of the sensory systems of mammals is the capacity to continuously adjust functionally and structurally to changes in sensory inputs throughout the animal’s life. The precise topographic organization of sensory cortical fields remains amenable to modifications for example when an animal is trained to perform a certain task or upon central or peripheral lesions to the nervous system. The main interest of my laboratory is to unravel and compare the structural, cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie developmental and lesion-induced plasticity of sensory neocortex. As experimental model, the visual system of mouse and cat is used.

There are many visual areas in the mammalian brain, but, especially in the mouse, it is still under debate how many areas there are and how these areas interact in interpreting the outside world. We established a visual cortical map using areal markers and activity reporter gene expression to subdivide the visual cortex and to identify the visual character of each cortical subdivision in the mouse brain (Van der Gucht et al., 2007; Van Brussel et al., 2009). An electrophysiological approach has been set up to characterize the functional properties of cortical neurons in the visual system of the mouse and to apply optogenetics towards interpreting the functional connectome and its adaptations to visual deprivation. (SAMME)

                     Van der Gucht et al., 2007                                               Van Brussel et al., 2009                                                            Hu et al., 2011                                     Paulussen et al., 2011

We explore the spatial and temporal impact of monocular deprivation, binocular deprivation as well as retinal lesions on activity reporter and protein expression patterns in mouse and cat visual cortex. We compare expression patterns in function of post-lesion survival time, and also at critical time points in development of the mouse and cat visual system like eye opening, and the peak or the ending of the critical period. Functional proteomics is key in identifying (new) plasticity-related molecules. We implement gel-based as well as gel-free proteomics strategies. In-depth characterization studies of these potential plasticity-regulator molecules involve real-time PCR, in situ hybridisation, immunocytochemistry, Western blotting, 2-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis,… (JULIE, TJING, KATRIEN, JEROEN)

We additionally look at the role of a changing balance in excitation-inhibition in cortical plasticity by directly investigating the expression pattern of glutamate, the glutamate synthesising enzyme PAG, its receptors and transporter molecules in normal, lesioned and dark-adapted cat and mouse visual cortex (JULIE).

Arckens et al., 2000

We advance the introduction of new technologies in neuroscience research. We optimized the use of imaging mass spectrometry (MSI) to visualize specific protein patterns in mouse tissues, including brain, of normal animals and disease mouse models. We explore the power of MSI to investigate the spatial and temporal impact of molecules infused in the cortex through minipumps. (LAURENS, JEROEN).

Minerva et al.

The leading goal of our ongoing research is to improve our knowledge and understanding of new cellular mediators and central molecular and structural mechanisms of cortical plasticity to boost future developments of novel pharmaceuticals and therapies to be used for treatment of sensory loss and brain damage.

Research topics in the context of collaborations:

We are involved in a large project with the department of Animal Psychology (Dr. Rudi D’hooghe, Dr. Detlef Balschun, Dr. Hans Op de Beeck) and FABER (Dr. Stephan Swinnen, Dr. Nici Wenderoth, Dr. Dan Woley) about the combined role of the hippocampus and striatum in visuo-motor learning in mouse and human (ANNELIES)

Together with Prof Dr. UT Eysel’s research team (Ruhr Universität Bochum, Germany) we investigate the response of the visual cortex to focal retinal lesions in cats and mice.

In collaboration with Dr. Kalina Burnat (Nencki Institute, Warsaw, Poland) we analyze how cat visual cortex copes with early versus late sensory deprivation and how it impacts visually-guided behaviour.

Collaborations with industrial partners with an interest in visual deficits:

Thrombogenics, Belgium