Researchers at the Academy of Physical Education in Poznań will implement the project “Mechanisms conditioning the collapse of homeostasis between synaptic stimulations and the internal excitability of motoneurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in mice.” The research will be funded with over PLN 2.5 million under the Opus 18 competition of the National Science Center.
The aim of the project is to determine the cause of the breakdown in activity regulation, called homeostasis, between motoneuron’s internal excitability and its synaptic stimulation level, and to see if restoring homeostasis will delay the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The study will be conducted on genetically modified mice possessing the mutated human SOD1 gene, showing a phenotype similar to human amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Thanks to this, the results can be used in studies in humans.