BOINCing PTEN-associated neural circuit pathology

2014
Anthony Zador, M.D., Ph.D.

2014 Scientific Innovations Award
Anthony Zador, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Neuroscience
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Many neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism and schizophrenia, are thought to arise from disruptions in brain wiring. However, the tools for studying brain wiring are limited in resolution and throughput. Dr. Zador and his laboratory have been developing a new method called BO INC (Barcoding of lndividual Neuronal Connections) that converts the problem of neural connectivity, traditionally a problem of microscopy, into a problem of high-throughput DNA sequencing. The advantage of this technique is that DNA sequencing is fast and inexpensive, so BOINC has the potential to resolve the full connectivity of a neural circuit at single neuron resolution quickly and cheaply. Here they propose to apply BOINC for the first time to an animal model of disease. Specifically, they propose to assess the fine connectivity in a mouse model of autism. Their approach is readily extendable to other animal models, and may reveal the disruptions in neural circuitry responsible for a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Back to Awards

Other Awards

Brain Research Foundation
James J DiCarlo, M.D., Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Using Computer Models of the Neural Mechanisms of Visual Processing to Non-Invasively Modulate Brain States
DiCarlo’s research team is exploring an innovative approach to address emotional challenges, such as anxiety and depression. Traditional treatments for these disorders can be complex and often cause unpleasant side effects,…
Brain Research Foundation
Eiman Azim, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Learning from Error: Defining how Cerebellar Circuits Drive Adaptation in a Changing World
The ability to move effectively through the world is one of the most important functions of the brain. However, the world and the body are constantly changing, meaning the signals…
Brain Research Foundation
Hillel Adesnik, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
All Optically Probing the Neural Codes of Perception in the Primate Brain
How patterns of action potentials in space and time give rise to sensory experience is among the most enduring mysteries of biology. Despite decades of experiments correlating brain activity patterns…
Brain Research Foundation
Chaolin Zhang, Ph.D., Columbia University
Human-specific Alternative Splicing, Brain
Development, and Ciliopathies
Like movie frames needing to be edited to tell an engaging story, pieces of genetic information stored in DNA for each gene need to be sliced and rejoined, through a…