What do memories look like?
Led by Don Arnold and Richard Roberts of USC, the team engineered microscopic probes that light up synapses in a living neuron in real time by attaching fluorescent markers onto synaptic proteins -- all without affecting the neuron's ability to function.
The fluorescent markers allow scientists to see live excitatory and inhibitory synapses for the first time and, importantly, how they change as new memories are formed.
The synapses appear as bright spots along dendrites (the branches of a neuron that transmit electrochemical signals). As the brain processes new information, those bright spots change, visually indicating how synaptic structures in the brain have been altered by the new data.
"When you make a memory or learn something, there's a physical change in the brain. It turns out that the thing that gets changed is the distribution of synaptic connections," said Arnold, associate professor of molecular and computational biology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and co-corresponding author of an article about the research that appears in Neuron on June 19.
The probes behave like antibodies, but they bind more tightly and are optimized to work inside the cell -- something that ordinary antibodies can't do. To make these probes, the team used a technique known as "mRNA display," which was developed by Roberts and Nobel laureate Jack Szostak.
"Using mRNA display, we can search through more than a trillion different potential proteins simultaneously to find the one protein that binds the target the best," said Roberts, co-corresponding author of the article and professor of chemistry and chemical engineering with joint appointments at USC Dornsife and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
Arnold and Roberts' probes (called "FingRs") are attached to green fluorescent protein (GFP), a protein isolated from jellyfish that fluoresces bright green when exposed to blue light. Because FingRs are proteins, the genes encoding them can be put into brain cells in living animals, causing the cells themselves to manufacture the probes.
The design of FingRs also includes a regulation system that cuts off the amount of FingR-GFP that is generated after 100 percent of the target protein is labeled, effectively eliminating background fluorescence -- generating a sharper, clearer picture.
These probes can be put in the brains of living mice and then imaged through cranial windows using two-photon microscopy.
The new research could offer crucial insight for scientists responding to President Barack Obama's Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, which was announced in April.
Modeled after the Human Genome Project, the objective of the $100 million initiative is to fast-track research that maps out exactly how the brain works and "better understand how we think, learn and remember," according to the BRAIN Initiative website.
The research was supported by funding from National Institutes of Health (grant numbers GM-083898, MH-086381, GM-083898 and GM-060416).
Welcome to SUV System Ltd!
SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.
We have built up long term business relationship with about many companies which are stockers and authorized agents. we have a steady and reliable supply to meet customer's demands to the greatest extent .Confidently, we are able to lower your cost and support your business with our years of professional service.
SUV System Ltd is Electronic Components Distributor Supplies,Find Quality Electronic Components Supplies Products IC(Integrated Circuits),Connectors,Capacitor,Resistors,Diodes,Transistors,LED at Suvsystem.com. Sourcing Other Energy, Environment, Excess Inventory Products from Manufacturers and Suppliers at Suvsystem.com
Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com
Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html
IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html
LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html
Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html
Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html
Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html
Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html
SUV System Ltd insists on the managing faith ofsincereness,speciality,foresight, win-win,so we build up stable-relationship customers located all over the world, including the States, Europe, Argentina, UAE, Malaysia, Australia,and India etc
we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.
C052G689B2G5CS C052G689B2G5CR C052G689B2G5CA C052G681J1G5CS C052G681J1G5CR7301 C052G681J1G5CR C052G681J1G5CP C052G681J1G5CM7301 C052G681J1G5CM C052G681J1G5CA7301 C052G681J1G5CA C052G681G1G5CS C052G681G1G5CR7301 C052G681G1G5CR C052G681G1G5CP C052G681G1G5CM C052G681G1G5CA7301 C052G681G1G5CA C052G681F1G5CS C052G681F1G5CR C052G681F1G5CP7301 C052G681F1G5CP C052G681F1G5CA C052G680J2G5CS C052G680J2G5CR7301 C052G680J2G5CR C052G680J2G5CP C052G680J2G5CM C052G680J2G5CA7301 C052G680J2G5CA C052G680G2G5CS C052G680G2G5CR7301 C052G680G2G5CR C052G680G2G5CP C052G680G2G5CM C052G759D2G5CM C052G759C2G5CS C052G759C2G5CR C052G759C2G5CA C052G759B2G5CS
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/2990.aspx
