# Neuronal circuit modulation by myelination in the mammalian visual cortex

> **NIH NIH K99** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2023 · $106,762

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 In the past decade, the field of myelination has undergone a conceptual revolution. Long considered a
static structure, recent studies have revealed that myelination is continuously shaped by external experiences
and plays essential roles in supporting learning and memory. A key question that emerges from these studies is
how oligodendrocytes, and the myelin sheaths they produce, influence neuronal circuits to impact behavior. My
long-term research goal is to determine how oligodendrocytes and myelin shape neuronal circuit function and
plasticity during development, learning, and memory. This work will crucially advance our knowledge of the
cellular processes underlying neural circuit maturation and lifelong plasticity, particularly considering the
numerous recent studies identifying myelination deficits as a common pathological hallmark of
neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders with cognitive symptoms, including autism spectrum
disorders, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease. Given its well-characterized developmental windows for
experience-induced neuronal plasticity and accessibility for in vivo readouts of neuronal activity, the mouse visual
cortex presents an ideal model for studying the interaction between external experience, myelination, and
neuronal plasticity. I will use novel genetic tools in combination with in vivo longitudinal two-photon imaging and
in vivo/slice electrophysiology to 1) test the effects of disrupting developmental myelination on the maturation of
functional neuronal properties and experience-induced plasticity, 2) determine the synaptic basis for circuit
modulation by myelination, and 3) investigate the cell type-specific roles of myelination in circuit function by
inhibiting myelination in specific populations of neurons. Results from these experiments will define the specific
neuron-myelin interactions underlying neuronal circuit maturation and plasticity with unprecedented rigor and
cell specificity, and provide a foundation for studying how these processes are perturbed in pathological contexts.
Furthermore, completion of these aims will provide me with rigorous training in in vivo electrophysiology and
analysis of large-scale electrophysiology data, which will be critical in the establishment of my independent
research program focused on the role of myelination in neuronal circuit maturation and function, as well as how
disruptions in myelination can lead to circuit dysfunction in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10632809
- **Project number:** 1K99NS131200-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Wen Xin
- **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $106,762
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10632809

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10632809, Neuronal circuit modulation by myelination in the mammalian visual cortex (1K99NS131200-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10632809. Licensed CC0.

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