The brainstem is an evolutionarily old brain region that controls key aspects of our behaviour, including mood, motivation, attention, and motor activity. Work with model organisms has shown that defects in the brainstem results in marked behavioural alterations. The brainstem is a complex neuronal mosaic, the cell types and development of which remain incompletely understood. This knowledge is highly needed, as important behavioural traits and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as attention deficit, hyperactivity and mood disorders, have developmental origins but the mechanisms remain obscure. In this project, we elucidate how gene regulation controls neuronal differentiation in the developing brainstem. We test the hypothesis that genetic variation in the developmental regulatory mechanisms can lead to innate behavioural variation in mammals and predisposition to brain disease. Our work has the potential to reveal neuronal mechanisms of normal and disturbed behavioural states.

2024

2028