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Funded Grants

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Electrically guided transcranial stimulation of cells chemogenically primed for excitability a novel, non-invasive and cell type-specific approach

Project Overview

I propose to test a new and potentially groundbreaking experimental technique called EC stimulation, which will enable researchers to influence the activity of different kinds of neurons in any part of the brain without the need of major brain invasive surgery or complex genetic techniques. This will be done by combining the use of a drug that acts directly on a type of ion channel called SK channels and a type of electrical stimulation called transcranial direct current stimulation. These can be combined so that only one kind of neuron and a small area of the brain are affected. Using a method called RNAscope in situ hybridization, I will verify if EC stimulation will indeed only stimulate one kind of neuron. I will also test whether this kind of stimulation will produce changes in neurotransmitters in other parts of the brain, and if this will produce observable changes in emotion-related behaviour. If successful, this will be the first time that such an easy-to-do but innovative and original technique can be developed, tested and used in the laboratory and potentially as a more economical and safer form of treatment for brain disorders.

Principal Investigator

Francis Bambico , Memorial University of Newfoundland

Partners and Donors

Azrieli Foundation

Project Ongoing

Electrically guided transcranial stimulation of cells chemogenically primed for excitability a novel, non-invasive and cell type-specific approach

  • Program Type

    Capacity building grants

  • Area of research

    Central Nervous System

  • Competition

    Azrieli Foundation – Brain Canada Early-Career Capacity Building grants

  • Province

    Newfoundland and Labrador

  • Start Date

    2019

  • Total Grant Amount

    $100,000

Contact Us

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Suite 1600, Montreal, Quebec
H3B 4G7

+1 (514) 989-2989 info@braincanada.ca

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Territorial acknowledgement

The offices of Brain Canada Foundation are located on the traditional, ancestral territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka Peoples, a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst nations. We honour and pay respect to elders past, present and emerging, and dedicate ourselves to moving forward in the spirit of partnership, collaboration, and reconciliation. In our work, we focus our efforts on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, particularly those that pertain to improving health for Indigenous Peoples and that focus on advancing our own learning on Indigenous issues.

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