Event

Genetic Interrogation of Neural Circuit Mechanisms for Somatosensation

Abstract: The nervous system is exquisitely tuned to mount the appropriate behavioral response to somatosensory stimuli ranging from a gentle caress to a harsh mechanical insult. How our nervous systems encode this information, from the level of sensory neuron activation in the skin up towards the central nervous system, in both normal and diseased states, remains enigmatic. Taking advantage of the advent of mouse molecular and genetic tools, I am addressing important questions about how the somatosensory system, with a focus on pain and itch, encode behavior. Using an integrative approach spanning molecular optogenetics, quantitative analysis of animal behavior, and in vivo calcium imaging, I have 1) determined how a population of pain-sensing neurons have unique morphological and physiological outputs depending upon body location, and 2) developed a new behavioral platform using high-speed videography, statistics, and machine learning to distinguish between innocuous versus painful behavior responses. The overall goal of my work is to increase our basic understanding of the mechanisms governing sensory encoding of touch, itch, and pain.