2017 Grant - Dorothy Schafer, PhD

Microglia-dependent mechanisms governing neural circuit plasticity. -

Defects in sensory processing, microglial reactivity, and synapses are now considered hallmark features of many neurological disorders from autism to Alzheimer’s disease. However, it is unclear how cellular changes manifest into devastating symptoms in patients. The current proposal will shed new light on how sensory experience regulates microglia to remodel neural circuits in the healthy developing and adult brain with a long-term goal of applying these mechanisms to uncover novel etiologies for neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia with underlying defects in microglia and synaptic connectivity.

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