Extracellular matrix integrity as neural resource of memory precision and cognitive flexibility (A05)

• Subject Area: Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells ; Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 425899996

We will deepen our understanding how the brain’s extracellular matrix (ECM) contributes to cognitive flexibility (CFL) and memory in mice and men. Using molecular tools, we will restore the ECM in aged and 5xFAD mice and study CFL, information encoding and engram updating. We shall test free-water diffusion tensor imaging and quantitative susceptibility imaging as promising MRI-based proxies for whole-brain ECM distribution in mice and humans to investigate the link between neural ECM and its peripheral markers, neuronal information processing in candidate brain regions and CFL.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1436: Neural resources of cognition
• Applicant Institution: Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
• Project Heads: Professor Alexander Dityatev, Ph.D.; Privatdozent Dr. Björn Hendrik Schott; Professorin Dr. Constanze Seidenbecher