David Ginty, PhD
Summer Lab Size:
Local Summer Program: No URL Available
Program Dates: June 6-August 12, 2016 (Dates for 2017 should be similar)
Harvard Medical School
Developmental Biology, Neuroscience
Characterization of Mouse Spinal Cord Neurons that Process Light Touch Information
Mechanosensation is a fundamental but poorly understood sensory process.One reason for this is that the connections
and circuits associated with mechanosensory neurons that carry light touch information from the skin to the spinal cord
are poorly understood.As part of our goal to understand mammalian touch circuitry and how light touch information is
processed in the central nervous system, we have undertaken a molecular genetic strategy to identify and characterize
spinal cord neurons that process light touch information emanating from the skin. We have identified several candidate
genes that are uniquely expressed in specific subsets of neurons within the mechanosensory recipient zone of the spinal
cord dorsal horn. Our hypothesis is that these genes define functionally distinct classes of interneurons and projection
neurons of the spinal cord dorsal horn.The goal of this project is to test this hypothesis by characterizing several genetically defined neuronal subtypes, using anatomical, molecular, morphological, and physiological approaches, in order to
gain insight into the circuits of the spinal cord.The work entails characterizing gene expression patterns and mouse lines
expressing reporters using spinal cord tissue sectioning, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and possibly electrophysiological analyses. This project is complementary to ongoing efforts using genetic, physiological, and anatomical strategies to study the mechanosensory neurons that carry light touch information from the skin to the spinal cord.
Together, these projects will inform us about spinal cord neuron organization and function and the circuits and cellular
logic underlying the sense of touch.