Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for Asami Tanimura in support of: Thalamostriatal adaptations in Parkinson's disease

The principal thalamic innervation of the striatum originates in the central lateral (CL) and parafascicular (PF) nuclei. These nuclei convey information critical to the striatal control of movement. In Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, these thalamic nuclei are among the earliest to manifest pathology. Yet, very little is known about the role they play in PD pathophysiology. The primary goal of this proposal is to begin to fill this gap. Using transgenic mice that allow CL and PF neurons to be selectively manipulated, a powerful combination of approaches will be used to pursue two aims. The first aim is to characterize how the CL and PF innervation of specific striatal circuits is altered in a mouse model of PD. Preliminary results show that these changes are profound. The second aim is to determine if chemogenetic approaches can normalize activity in these thalamostriatal circuits and alleviate behavioral deficits in a PD model.