This $212,895 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) supports research at Duke University to investigate the role of distinct intratelencephalic (IT) neuronal subtypes and their contributions to cognitive and motor function, particularly in the context of perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). The award will fund experiments using novel mouse models to perform anterograde and retrograde axonal tracing, assess changes in IT neuron projections after HIE, and utilize spatial transcriptomics to characterize cell-specific gene expression changes. This work aims to disentangle how disruptions in IT neuron microcircuitry differentially contribute to cognitive versus motor symptoms in HIE, providing insights that could inform the development of targeted therapies to ameliorate IT dysfunction. The award period runs from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2029.