# Precision of Myelin Plasticity in Health and Disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2022 · $407,419

## Abstract

Project Summary
Our application addresses a fundamental need of the scientific community focused on curing Multiple Sclerosis
(MS). MS is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that affects more than 2.5 million people
worldwide with an unknown etiology. Progress in the understanding of MS has been constrained by a lack of
understanding of the reciprocal interactions between behaviorally-relevant neuronal activity and changes in
myelination in health and disease. The link between behaviorally-relevant neuronal activity and circuit-specific
changes in myelination remain unknown, as does the role of behavior interventions in enhancing remyelination.
Recently, we have developed new approaches to visualize myelin, oligodendrocytes, and their precursors in
the intact mouse brain, allowing an unprecedented view into their dynamics and behavior in health and
disease. In this application, we propose to capitalize on the inter-individual, longitudinal, subcellular insights
revealed by these techniques to discern the effects of changes in local circuit activity and myelination on motor
behavior. The objectives of this proposal are: 1) evaluate how behaviorally-relevant neuronal circuit function
regulates myelination during learning and myelin repair and 2) to elucidate how changes in myelin specificity
modulate motor learning and behavior. This proposal represents a novel synthesis of approaches to study
neural circuit function during behavior and oligodendrocyte biology, and breaks new ground in the
understanding of the mechanisms underlying motor learning and dysfunction following demyelinating injuries.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10345911
- **Project number:** 1R01NS125230-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Ethan Garrett Hughes
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $407,419
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-12-01 → 2026-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10345911

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10345911, Precision of Myelin Plasticity in Health and Disease (1R01NS125230-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10345911. Licensed CC0.

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