Project:
Brain-wide analysis of neural perturbations in a marmoset ASD model
Laboratories:
Alan Jasanoff, Ph.D. and Guoping Feng, Ph.D.
Biographical Information:
Wenyu earned her B.S. in Biology from the University of South Dakota and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Penn State University, where, under the mentorship of Dr. Nanyin Zhang, Wenyu investigated the neural correlates of resting-state brain networks in rodents. Her research used a multimodal approach, combining techniques including fMRI, electrophysiology, chemogenetics, and behavioral assessments to explore the dynamics of brain networks and their functional significance.
Current Work:
This project will be the first to characterize brain-wide neural function in SHANK3 knockout marmosets, which model the monogenic autism spectrum disorder (ASD) Phelan-McDermid Syndrome (PMS). Compared with wild-type animals, PMS model marmosets are expected to display perturbations to neural activity associated with high-level cognitive function and social stimulus processing. To assess these phenomena, we will make functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements in wild type and mutant monkeys during rest, presentation of socially relevant video imagery, and an attention-dependent binocular rivalry task. We will examine how the correlational structure of brain activity dynamics, as well as the responses to different stimulus types, differ quantitatively between the two sets of animals. Then we will use a cutting-edge molecular fMRI technique to examine the circuit-level basis of perturbed brain function in PMS. This technique will reveal whether changes to neural activity in socially relevant brain regions arise from top-down, bottom-up, or more widespread alterations in neuronal signaling properties. These studies have the potential to identify biomarkers and inform circuit-targeted therapeutic strategies in clinical settings, while also enhancing our understanding of the neurobiology underlying cognitive and behavioral processes affected in ASDs.
Publications:
Tu, W., Cramer, S.R., and Zhang, N. (2024). Disparity in temporal and spatial relationships between resting-state electrophysiological and fMRI signals. Elife 13. 10.7554/eLife.95680. PMC11299978.
Tu, W., and Zhang, N. (2022). Neural underpinning of a respiration-associated resting-state fMRI network. Elife 11. 10.7554/eLife.81555. PMC9645809.
Tu, W., Ma, Z., and Zhang, N. (2021). Brain network reorganization after targeted attack at a hub region. Neuroimage 237, 118219. 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118219. PMC8289586.
Tu, W., Ma, Z., Ma, Y., Dopfel, D., and Zhang, N. (2021). Suppressing Anterior Cingulate Cortex Modulates Default Mode Network and Behavior in Awake Rats. Cereb Cortex 31, 312-323. 10.1093/cercor/bhaa227. PMC7727348.
Keywords:
molecular fMRI, brain circuitry, autism, marmoset