Team Julie PERROY

Pathophysiology of synaptic transmission

Project In vivo signaling in neuronal ensembles

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Vivien Szabo
Chercheur CDD, Inserm

We aim at exploring in vivo signaling dynamics during learning, focusing on post-synaptic plasticity in neuronal ensembles using in vivo microscopy and biosensors.

Signaling involved in post-synaptic plasticity comprises various pathways, including early messengers such as calcium ion and cyclic AMP, usually converging towards integrator kinases like ERK. These pathways interact in a dynamical fashion, at temporal scales ranging from millisecond to minutes. Data from living animals are very parse, such that signaling dynamics during behavior are still unknown. We aim at recording simultaneously several signaling activities in neuronal ensembles during learning. To this end, we developed a confocal fiberscope allowing fluorescence and BRET imaging of original biosensors, and record from hippocampal place cells during spatial navigation.

To decipher the signalling pathways involved in plasticity in vivo, the Ca2+ (jRGECO) and ERK (YEN) biosensors are expressed in the dorsal CA1 of the mouse by injection of AAV vectors and the fiberscope is placed just above the hippocampus.

Main publications

• Dussaux, C. et al. (2018) Scientific Reports 8, 16262.
• Szabo, V., et al. (2014) Neuron 84, 1157–1169.

Funding

• ANR LEARN

Collaborations

• Cathie Ventalon (CNRS, IBENS)