Summary

The main goal of this project is to investigate the nucleus incertus of the brain in humans and elucidate its role in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease pathology. This project aims to: (i) characterize the human nucleus incertus (NI) at the molecular level in post-mortem tissue from subjects without a history of dementia or other neurological disorders; and (ii) identify the gene expression profile of NI neurons in post-mortem tissue from Alzheimer's disease and control subjects.

Project Details

The anatomy and key aspects of the neurochemistry of the nucleus incertus (NI) and its connections throughout the brain have been systematically mapped in rat, mouse and in primate, but not in humans. In my proposal, I will characterize the human NI at the molecular level in post-mortem human tissue. The study will lay the foundation for comparative studies of nucleus incertus samples from Alzheimer's disease and matched control subjects; the data will lay the foundation for future multi-omics studies.