Abstract #1908
Probing Gq-GPCR Signaling in Rat Primary Motor Cortex with Pharmacogenetic fMRI
Manasmita Das 1 , Heather K Decot 1 , Yu-Chieh Kao 1 , Oyarzabal Esteban 1 , and Yen-Yu Ian Shih 1
1
Biomedical Research Imaging Center,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel
Hill, NC, United States
The advent of novel genetic tools has triggered a
renaissance in neuroscience research, providing
tremendous opportunities to study the neuronal
correlates of complex brain function with high
spatiotemporal control. This study offers the first,
direct evidence of fMRI responses to pharmacogenetic
activation of excitatory neurons in rat primary motor
cortex (M1) using Gq-coupled Designer Receptors
Exclusively Activated for Designer Drugs (DREADDs). This
novel technology contributes a potent toolbox for
noninvasive mapping of GPCR-mediated cell signaling in
vivo, a critical insight of which is necessary to
understand various physiological and molecular phenomena
and thus broaden the range of new therapeutic
interventions.
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