The role of adult-born granule cells in epileptogenesis (C06*)

• Subject Area: Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells
• Term: from 2017 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 227953431

This project deals with the role of adult born cells in the dentate gyrus in the development of pathological high-frequency oscillations in chronic epilepsy. The key underlying hypothesis, supported by preliminary data, is that adult born granule cells of the dentate gyrus are the most relevant cellular and network contribu¬tors to these oscillations. The project proposes that the initial injury leading to the development of epilepsy affects in particular those adult-born granule cells that are in a particularly vulnerable stage of their development, when they are entering their third week of growth. These adult-born granule cells undergo abnormal maturation and network integration. This hypothesis will be addressed with functional (optogenetic and physiological) techniques, as well as functional genomic approaches using cell-type specific RNA-seq.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1089: Synaptic Micronetworks in Health and Disease
• Applicant Institution: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Istvan Mody