Unraveling Neuroscience

Hi! I’m Zola Lungershausen, a senior Biology major studying pre-med at Whitman. This summer I have been researching in a lab at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon. The lab is neuroscience-focused, studying the role of glial cells and their effect on the nervous system. These cells haven’t been studied very much, even though they are actually more abundant than neurons in the human brain. Past research has found that they play a large role in neural circuit assembly, plasticity and function, however, this research doesn’t go too in depth on the question of why this occurs. With the use of the model organism Drosophila (more commonly known as the fruit fly), the lab is looking to define these precise roles that glial cells play in helping the nervous system function to drive animal behavior.

There are many scientists studying this relationship between glial cells and the nervous system at the lab, and I was lucky enough to be paired with one of the postdocs who is studying the morphology of a specific type of glial cell, called astrocytes. She has been teaching and helping me run a smaller experiment for my biology thesis where I am looking at two specific genes and their effect on astrocyte form and shape.

So far, I have learned how to set up genetic crosses with Drosophila to create a new generation of flies to study. To do this, I use a microscope to look for and collect virgin female flies and cross them to male flies that are dominant for the lack of one of the genes of interest. I cross three groups at a time; a control group, one group that lacks gene #1 and another group that lacks gene #2. Flies in these crosses naturally produce the next generation, and five days later the life cycle stage that is used for dissection will emerge. This stage in the life cycle is referred to as third instar larvae, which the lab calls the “wandering” larvae stage based on their movement about the test tube. I then dissect the brains from these larvae under a microscope with the help of a pair of tweezers. This part is honestly my favorite, even though it was hard to get the hang of! I’ve found that once you are able to locate the brain in the tangled mess of translucent organs, the dissection process becomes a lot easier.

This dissection step is where I currently am in the experiment. After finishing this, I will learn how to mount the brains onto a slide and use the lab’s confocal microscope to image and analyze my results. I’m looking for any significant differences in the shape, size or presence of astrocytes.

In my time so far working at this lab, I have learned so much about one of the ways how neuroscience is studied. I’ve definitely learned things here that I wouldn’t have learned anywhere else! It’s been really interesting to hear about and see first hand what gene editing is like, and
how just one gene can have such a large impact on an organism’s life and everyday behavior. After my work this summer, I’m excited to keep following the lab and see what they come up with, as well as use my new knowledge on astrocytes to make an awesome thesis. Learning how to work in a lab environment has been so interesting and exciting and I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks!