Activity-dependent mechanisms of early brain wiring

Activity-dependent mechanisms of early brain wiring

Fat-tailed dunnarts to study early brain development

Dunnart with Kibble
Adult fat-tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata)

We are investigating how the earliest circuits of the brain first switch on coordinated patterns of activity. We hypothesize that early patterned activity might mediate the formation of mature brain circuits and how they function.  

In this project we are studying the fat-tailed dunnart, whose joeys are born at a very early stage of development (equivalent to E10 in mouse or gestational week 7 in humans). Many of the key processes that shape the brain occur before birth in mice and people but after birth in dunnarts, giving scientists the opportunity to study brain development at its early stages.

Dunnart with Cricket
The prey capture task will be used to assess decision-making and prediction.

This project involves calcium imaging and electrophysiology of the early developing brain, as well as behavioral assays of these marsupials to examine sensory-motor function, vision, and other aspects of behavior. We seek to answer:

  1. How do the earliest circuits of the brain first switch on coordinated patterns of activity?
  2. Are early activity patterns instructive for circuit development?
  3. Are early activity patterns critical for later brain function?

Relevant publications:

  • Paolino A, Fenlon LR, Kozulin P, Haines E, Lim JWC, Richards LJ, Suárez R. (2020) Differential timing of a conserved transcriptional network underlies divergent cortical projection routes across mammalian brain evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 117(19):10554-10564. Article
  • Suárez R, Paolino A, Fenlon LR, Morcom LR, Kozulin P, Kurniawan ND, Richards LJ. (2018) A pan-mammalian map of interhemispheric brain connections predates the evolution of the corpus callosum. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 115(38):9622-9627. Article
  • Paolino A, Fenlon LR, Kozulin P, Richards LJ, Suárez R. (2018) Multiple events of gene manipulation via in pouch electroporation in a marsupial model of mammalian forebrain development. J Neurosci Methods. 293:45-52. Article
  • Suárez R, Paolino A, Kozulin P, Fenlon LR, Morcom LR, Englebright R, O’Hara PJ, Murray PJ, Richards LJ. (2017) Development of body, head and brain features in the Australian fat-tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata; Marsupialia: Dasyuridae); A postnatal model of forebrain formation. PLoS One. 12(9):e0184450. Article