A special feature of the brains of large mammals with higher cognitive functions is that they exhibit folding of the cerebral cortex. Conversely, folding anomalies can be used in the clinical diagnosis of cognitive disorders. Despite the relevance of cortical morphology to clinical diagnostics, the causes and consequences of cortex folding are still little understood. Prof. Dr. Kristian Franze, whose previous research on the interaction of mechanics and the nervous system is considered groundbreaking, together with an international team of three other scientists from the Institute for Neurosciences CSIC-UMH (Spain), the University of Liège (Belgium) and the Pasteur Institute (France), aims to fill this scientific gap in the ERC-funded research project UNFOLD.
"We hypothesize that the folding of the cerebral cortex in mammals emerges from a dynamic interplay between mechanical and molecular processes and has a significant impact on the architecture and function of the brain," says Prof. Kristian Franze. He and the interdisciplinary team of researchers are using a multidisciplinary strategy to disprove the previous assumption that cortical folding in mammals is an epiphenomenon, i.e., the result of a process without further functional consequences.
UNFOLD combines a variety of experimental and computational approaches, including genomics, – the collection and analysis of DNA sequences from a genome, cell biology, mechanics of brain development and computational modelling. The team will apply in vitro, in vivo and in silico approaches to brain tissue from strategically selected animal models and humans. Initially, the researchers aim to map the molecular, cellular and mechanical processes accompanying cortex folding. Subsequently, they will modify these processes and study the consequences of their manipulation on brain folding and neuronal connections. In this way, the scientists hope to identify the key mechanisms leading to cortical folding and elucidate their dynamic interactions. The consequences for the function of neuronal circuits and the behavior of the animals will then be deciphered. The project integrates approaches from a wide range of natural and life sciences in a way rarely undertaken before. Unravelling the dynamic interactions between molecular, cellular and mechanical processes will not only provide unprecedented insights into brain development, but also reveal cellular and mechanical interactions which may be relevant to many other developmental and disease processes.
MEDICA-tradefair.com; Source: Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts
