| INSTRUCTIONS - PROFESSORS: Fill out Sections A & B then submit this form online. (You will receive an email copy of the form. The Office for Undergraduate Research in Science will also post the project online, indicating whether the project is open for students to apply or taken.) DONE |
| INSTRUCTIONS - STUDENTS: You may receive this form by email, or you may download it after it has been posted. Either way, print this form. Complete and sign Section C on the hardcopy. Ask your supervisor to sign Section D. Take it to the department corresponding to the course number in Section A (this may or may not be your own department). Do not register for a '396' course on Minerva until you receive departmental permission. Have a discussion with your supervisor about time/work expectations, keeping in mind that this is a 3-credit course (roughly, 10 hours per week for 12 weeks). Remember that a '396' course is an elective. |
| INSTRUCTIONS - DEPARTMENTS: After the unit chair/director/designate approves (or not) this project, notify student. If approved, please give student permission to register on Minerva, and fax this form (with signatures) to the Office for Undergraduate Research in Science at 514-398-8102. |
| QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK? Contact Victor Chisholm by email, or phone 514-398-5964. |
| SECTION A: SUPERVISOR INFORMATION |
| Name: |
Anne McKinney |
| Email: |
anne [dot] mckinney [at] mcgill [dot] ca |
| Phone: |
514 398 5685 |
| Website: |
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| Supervisor's department: |
None of the above |
| Supervisor's department (if none of the above) |
Pharmacology and Therapeutics |
| Course number: |
NSCI396 (Neuroscience) |
| SECTION B: PROJECT INFORMATION |
| Term: |
Fall 2010-2011 |
| Project start date: |
Sept 1st 2010 |
| Project end date: |
Dec 2rd 2010 |
| Project title: |
Synapses on thin-shaped dendritic spines are the first to be lost after deafferentation in area CA1 of the mature hippocampus |
| Project description: |
Dendritic spines are the postsynaptic sites of the majority of excitatory synapses in the brain. Spines are approximately 1µm protrusions of the dendritic membrane and are heterogeneous in shape in the mature cortex and hippocampus. The difference shapes have been shown to be linked to synaptic strength, biochemical compartments and content of glutamate receptors (AMPA receptors). Previous work in our lab has shown 7 days after physical (lesion) or chemical (NBQX, AMPA/ kainate antagonists) deafferentation there is a reduction in excitatory synapse number and more excitatory shaft synapses. The time course and role of spine heterogeneity in synapse maintenance and remodeling is unknown after deafferentation. Nicholas will perform electroporation, imaging and analysis all of which are routine in the lab. Electroporation with Alexa 546 will be used to label many Schaffer Collateral axons in mature organotypic hippocampal slice cultures made from a transgenic mouse that expresses a membrane tagged GFP in a subset of CA1 cells. After labeling NBQX will be applied to the cultures. High resolution live confocal imaging a portion of territory dendritic spines which are innervated with the labeled Schaffer Collaterals 2X per day for a total of 7 days. References will be used to ensure the same region is imaged each day. |
| Prerequisite: |
1 term completed at McGill + CGPA of 3.0 or higher; or permission of instructor. |
| Other prerequisite, if applicable: |
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| Grading scheme (The final report must be worth at least 50% of final grade): |
50% work in lab, 50% write up |
| Other project information: |
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| Project status - This project is: |
Open to applicants |
| How students can apply: |
N/A; this project is filled. |
| If other, please specify: |
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| Ethics, safety, and training |
| Which of the following, if any, is involved? |
None |
| Animal subjects |
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| Human subjects |
[ ] |
| Biohazardous substances |
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| Radioactive materials |
[ ] |
| Handling chemicals |
[ ] |
| Using lasers |
[ ] |
| Supervisors are responsible for the ethics and safety compliance of undergraduate students. |
| SECTION C: STUDENT INFORMATION |
| Do not complete this section unless/until the student is identified. |
| Name: |
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| McGill ID: |
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| Email (first [dot] last [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca): |
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| Phone: |
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| Program (E.g., B.Sc. Maj. Chem. Min. Biol.): |
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| Level (U0 / U1 / U2 / U3): |
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| Student signature - I have not applied for another '396' course in this term: |
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| SECTION D: APPROVALS. |
| Do not complete this section unless/until the student is identified. |
| Supervisor: I give my permission for the student identified in section C to register for this project under my supervision. |
| Supervisor's signature: |
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| Date: |
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| Unit chair/director/designate: I certify that this project conforms to departmental requirements for 396 courses. |
| Unit chair/director/designate's name: |
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| Unit chair/director/designate's signature: |
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| Date: |
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