|
To further examine the role of the Prickle genes in the development and progression of epilepsy, I will examine the electrical activity of the Prickle mutant mouse brain by using electrophysiological techniques including electroencephalograms. I expect to see that my mice will have a similar dysfunction in these activities since families with PRICKLE mutations have epilepsy. Secondly, to test the hypothesis that Prickle mutations confer altered brain anatomy, I will examine the brain anatomy of Prickle mutant mice both morphologically and by quantifying neuron numbers at multiple developmental time points. These studies will be accomplished using immunohistochemical stainings and confocal imaging techniques to determine discrete changes in brain morphology, synapse formation, synapse number. Knowing that Prickle plays a role in the noncanonical WNT planar cell polarity signaling pathway; we expect to see that there are changes at the synapse of mutant Prickle mice.
|