Area:
Neuroanatomy, Sexual Differentiation, Amygdala, Autism
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High-probability grants
According to our matching algorithm, Ryan Taylor Johnson is the likely recipient of the following grants.
Years |
Recipients |
Code |
Title / Keywords |
Matching score |
2009 — 2011 |
Johnson, Ryan Taylor |
F31Activity Code Description: To provide predoctoral individuals with supervised research training in specified health and health-related areas leading toward the research degree (e.g., Ph.D.). |
Influence of Androgens On the Amygdala @ Michigan State University
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this line of research is to understand how sex differences in the brain arise and the neuroanatomical nature of these sex differences. Public health is affected by numerous mental diseases which appear more frequently in one sex than the other, suggesting sex differences in neural anatomy make one sex more susceptible to particular abnormalities and less susceptible to others. The amygdala demonstrates sex differences in activity and anatomy and is closely linked to several sex-biased public health concerns such as schizophrenia, autism, anxiety, depression, and bi-polar disorder. The medial postero-dorsal amygdala (MePD) appears especially sensitive to sex hormones and challenges the accepted theory that neural sex differences are estrogen-dependent. In the MePD androgen receptors (AR) are necessary for complete formation of sex differences in several aspects of neural anatomy including regional volume, neuronal soma size, and neuron number. However, other aspects of MePD cellular anatomy may also contribute to sex differences in the amygdala. In other sexually dimorphic brain regions, astrocytes interact with local GABA neurons to produce changes in cell morphology. This interaction is mediated by sex hormones and it is likely that a similar relationship may exist in the MePD. We have recently identified dramatic sex and hemisphere differences in astrocyte number and morphology in the MePD as part of a prior proposal. Building upon that discovery, this research will 1) utilize immunocytochemistry and stereology to count and trace the soma of GABA containing neurons within the MePD, looking for sex difference in GABA neuron number or size 3) assess the influence of adult androgen manipulations on astrocytes and GABA neurons and 4) utilize fluorescent labeling and confocal microscopy to identify which cell types contain AR, thus determining where androgens are acting in the MePD. 2. A cursory examination of mental disorder prevalences reveals strong sex-biases in numerous pathologies, suggesting sex-differences in how the brain functions. By exploring how male and female brains are different and how these differences arise, we may be able to develop more targeted and effective treatments for such diseases. This research focuses on a region of the brain that is both highly sensitive to sex hormones and closely linked to a multitude of sex-biased diseases, the amygdala. This research also targets specific cell types in order to identify where sex hormones are acting to alter amygdala neural anatomy.
|
0.946 |
2012 — 2013 |
Johnson, Ryan Taylor |
F32Activity Code Description: To provide postdoctoral research training to individuals to broaden their scientific background and extend their potential for research in specified health-related areas. |
Amygdala Connectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorder @ University of California At Davis
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental conditions diagnosed in the first 2-4 years of life which includes deficits in social interaction and communication. Although many brain regions are likely involved in ASD, the amygdala has been an area of great interest due to its role in emotional behavior and its numerous connections to other brain regions also implicated in ASD. Abnormal amygdala function has been demonstrated in ASD subjects and initial studies have identified altered amygdala neuroanatomy in post- mortem tissue from ASD adults. In addition, several magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies demonstrate that the amygdala is enlarged in young ASD subjects and that this enlargement occurs early in life. Recent reports not only confirm this enlargement but have also identified multiple patterns of amygdala growth in the first few years of life in children with ASD. These results suggest that the amygdala may be at the center of an abnormal brain network in ASD, and that amygdala pathology may vary across different groups in ASD. These findings also raise the possibility that the pattern of connectivity between the amygdala and other brain regions is altered in ASD. However, potential alterations in the white-matter pathways associated with the amygdala have not been thoroughly investigated. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allows for in vivo visualization and investigation of pathways in the brain. DTI studies have already begun to identify white-matter abnormalities in the adult ASD brain, but no studies have investigated amygdala connectivity early in life when ASD symptoms first emerge and when abnormal amygdala enlargement is most pronounced. The proposed research will utilize DTI to investigate amygdala connectivity in a large longitudinal group of preschool-aged children with ASD and typically developing control children. By examining the integrity of connections to and from the amygdala in young children over several years, the proposed research will contribute significantly to our understanding of amygdala abnormalities in ASD. In addition, by examining white-matter pathways in a large group of extensively phenotyped children with ASD, this proposal seeks to further identify specific subtypes of neuropathology in ASD.
|
1.009 |