MAPPING NEURONAL ACTIVITY TO GENE EXPRESSION

The goal of this project is to create a data acquisition system that integrates neurophysiological data with molecular biology images at single cell resolution. This project addresses the NIMH research topic "Cutting-Edge Technologies" in the SBIR Omnibus Solicitation. The system will utilize a multi-channel silicon probe to deposit histology registration marks and record physiological activity. Software in the Neuralynx Cheetah data acquisition system will triangulate firing activity and construct a 3-D neuronal map. Additional software will align this map to the registration marks on histology images, such that a neuron's firing history can be analyzed in conjunction with gene expression data. This application addresses a key question for neurobiologists: why does neuronal activity activate gene transcription in some cases and not in others? Gene products that directly affect brain function must be influenced somehow by patterns of cellular activity, yet this line of research cannot proceed until suitable tools are devised. This technology will enable neuroscientists to address this fundamental question. Because we propose to locate histologically any individual neuron after its firing activity has been recorded, additional techniques-such as immunohistochemistry-could be used in combination with this product to provide new and useful information to scientists.