# The Development and Integration of Early Born SST-Expressing Interneurons in the Cortex

> **NIH NIH R01** · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · 2024 · $531,149

## Abstract

Project Summary
In this grant we propose three aims focused on exploring the following: (Aim 1) Determine the
efferent target selectivity of granular and infragranular SST cINs and determine the developmental
strategy by which this is achieved. (Aim 2) Explore the developmental molecular and cellular
basis by which SST cIN diversity is generated. (Aim 3) Identify and validate the SST prototypes
during late embryonic and early developmental periods that give rise to the nine SST cIN cell
types that populate the mature cortex.
 A chief goal of my laboratory is to determine cortical interneuron diversity contributes
selectively to cortical function and how perturbations in these programs result in brain disease.
This grant is an exemplar of the multidisciplinary approaches that has become our hallmark and
combines individuals with skills ranging from molecular biology, transcriptomic analysis, genetics
and physiology. By combining these with the Fishell laboratory's expertise in development,
genetics and circuit formation, we will explore in this proposal how developmental programs in
SST cINs shape them selective synaptic connectivity.
 Together, this grant represents a broad scale effort to both develop and test the
proposition that cortical circuits are much more precisely crafted such that the bewildering
diversity we have discovered in excitatory and inhibitory neurons reflects a level of circuit
organization that we are only beginning to understand. From our preliminary data it is evident
that canonical cortical circuits are much more precise and specific to particular subtypes. By
defining their relationships, as well as the molecular mechanisms that dictate their synaptic
specificity, this work will greatly increase both our understanding of cINs, as well as the
microcircuits they contribute to. This in turn will greatly extend our understanding of how
discrete cIN and pyramidal neurons interact in the obligate lock and key mechanisms that allow
their assembly.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10801414
- **Project number:** 2R01NS081297-11A1
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
- **Principal Investigator:** GORDON J FISHELL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $531,149
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2012-09-01 → 2028-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10801414

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10801414, The Development and Integration of Early Born SST-Expressing Interneurons in the Cortex (2R01NS081297-11A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10801414. Licensed CC0.

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