Multi-user equipment approved in grant 2020/01702-2: electrophysiological research microscope

• Grant number: 21/13364-7
• Support Opportunities: Multi-user Equipment Program
• Start date: February 01, 2022
• End date: January 31, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - General Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Luciane Helena Gargaglioni Batalhão
• Grantee: Luciane Helena Gargaglioni Batalhão
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/01702-2 - Physiopathology of CO2 sensitivity: role of locus coeruleus, AP.TEM
• EMU web page: Página do Equipamento Multiusuário não informada
• Type of equipment: Caracterização de Materiais - Microscopia ótica - Com células vivas; Caracterização e Análises de Amostras - Biomédica - Tecidos; Caracterização e Análises de Amostras - Biomédica - Corporal
• Manufacturer: Fabricante não informado
• Model: Modelo não informado

Abstract

The locus coeruleus (LC) is a sexually dimorphic noradrenergic nucleus that projects throughout the brain and is the main source of central norepinephrine controlling various functions, including central chemoreception. Our group was a pioneer in demonstrating the importance of LC in ventilatory responses to CO2/pH changes in males and females and that the gain of LC neurons depends on age, being larger in young (P10) neonates. It is well known that the imbalance in noradrenergic neurotransmission modulation in this area is implicated in the emergence of numerous psychiatric disorders, including panic disorder. Patients suffering from this disorder have a higher sensitivity to CO2/pH. It is known that the brain detects acid for several reasons besides ventilatory control, and the association between hypercapnia and panic disorders is quite strong. Thus, the present project intends to provide a detailed view of the neuronal and glial factors of the LC that determine the chemosensitive gain to CO2/pH and to identify targets for possible clinical treatments of disorders involving abnormal central detection of CO2. (AU)