Project Details
Projekt
Mapping developmental variability of cognitive performance into prefrontal circuits
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Ileana L. Hanganu-Opatz
Subject Area
Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
Term
since 2026
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 437610067
Most functions contributing to cognitive flexibility, such as working memory (WM), are thought to mature in parallel with the development of prefrontal circuits and therefore, to progressively augment from childhood to young adulthood, and to decline only after middle age. However, some aspects of cognitive flexibility, such as decision making (DM) strategies, have been found to reach a maximal performance at juvenile age. The principles that govern the emergence of cognitive flexibility in relationship to corresponding neuronal ensembles, in general, and the performance differences for WM and DM during development, in particular, are poorly understood. During the 1st funding period, we combined behavioral assessment with chronic monitoring of network and neuronal activity along the development and elucidated the non-linear trajectory of prefrontal circuit development in relationship to the maturation of WM and DM abilities. We showed that temporal coordination of prefrontal ensembles evolves in a task-specific manner along development. Moreover, we detected a pronounced inter- and intra-individual variability when assessing behavioral traits in WM and DM tasks, even if the investigated mice are genetically almost identical and grow in similar environment. In line with the core aims of the Research Unit, during the 2nd funding period, we will investigate the causes and mechanisms of intra- and inter-individual behavioral variability along development as well as its relevance for the cognitive flexibility of adults. First, we will classify behavioral strategies along development and identify their neural correlates. Second, we will assess the effects of learning on developmental intra- and inter-individual behavioral and neural variability. Third aim will be dedicated to the identification of cellular substrate of age-dependent behavioral variability. Finally, we will examine how cognitive training during development affects intra- and inter-animal variability at adult age. We expect that the gained insights will provide a detailed mechanistic understanding how cognitive flexibility develops in relation with the dynamic formation of prefrontal ensembles.
DFG Programme
Research Units
