# SYNAPTIC COMPUTATIONS IN CENTRAL VESTIBULAR NEURONS

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $381,250

## Abstract

Project Summary
Animals must cope with the pervasive force of gravity as they navigate the environment. To sense and respond
to this force, vertebrates rely on signals from the inner ear, where gravito-inertial sensors called otoliths drive
activity in peripheral vestibular circuits. This information is then processed by central vestibular neurons in the
brainstem and transformed into postural outputs via projections to the spinal cord. Although studies in slice
preparation have indicated that vestibular neurons make linear computations of their inputs, this concept has
not been tested in vivo. The objective of this proposal is to determine how vestibulospinal neurons carry out
computations of sensory inputs. To surmount the technical challenges of examining synaptic and cellular
properties of this circuit, I propose to use the larval zebrafish. Zebrafish are an excellent system for this line of
research because of their accessibility, transparency, and homology to other vertebrates. Furthermore, we can
carry out many experiments that are not feasible in mammalian models, including in vivo whole cell patch-
clamp analysis of synaptic responses to sensory stimuli. This technical advance permits us to record sensory-
evoked activity in the intact brain, over the time period in which postural behaviors develop. In addition, we
can exploit a mutant fish line in which otolith development is delayed by two weeks, providing in effect a high
selective sensory deprivation to vestibular circuits. The proposed experiments will therefore reveal how sensory
information is encoded during development, both under normal conditions and those of sensory delay. In Aim
1, we will use a combination of behavior, imaging, and physiology to define the anatomy, sensory responses,
and functional role of vestibulospinal neurons in vivo. These experiments will define the homology between
zebrafish and mammalian vestibulospinal nuclei. In Aim 2, we will quantify how sensory afferents converge to
produce central tuning. We will further ask how this convergence develops over the time period in which
animals begin to self-right with respect to gravity. Here we will use both ultrastructural reconstructions of
vestibular afferents to the central vestibulospinal neurons as well as physiological analyses of the development
of sensory encoding. Finally, in Aim 3 we will examine the functional contributions of inhibition to sensory
tuning and develop a highly constrained model of vestibular computations. Together, the proposed
experiments will provide a rigorous and quantitative analysis of how sensory tuning is constructed in central
vestibular neurons.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10399537
- **Project number:** 5R01DC016413-05
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Martha W Bagnall
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $381,250
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-06-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10399537

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10399537, SYNAPTIC COMPUTATIONS IN CENTRAL VESTIBULAR NEURONS (5R01DC016413-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10399537. Licensed CC0.

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