RRC ID 81123
Author Young TR, Yamamoto M, Kikuchi SS, Yoshida AC, Abe T, Inoue K, Johansen JP, Benucci A, Yoshimura Y, Shimogori T.
Title Thalamocortical control of cell-type specificity drives circuits for processing whisker-related information in mouse barrel cortex.
Journal Nat Commun
Abstract Excitatory spiny stellate neurons are prominently featured in the cortical circuits of sensory modalities that provide high salience and high acuity representations of the environment. These specialized neurons are considered developmentally linked to bottom-up inputs from the thalamus, however, the molecular mechanisms underlying their diversification and function are unknown. Here, we investigated this in mouse somatosensory cortex, where spiny stellate neurons and pyramidal neurons have distinct roles in processing whisker-evoked signals. Utilizing spatial transcriptomics, we identified reciprocal patterns of gene expression which correlated with these cell-types and were linked to innervation by specific thalamic inputs during development. Genetic manipulation that prevents the acquisition of spiny stellate fate highlighted an important role for these neurons in processing distinct whisker signals within functional cortical columns, and as a key driver in the formation of specific whisker-related circuits in the cortex.
Volume 14(1)
Pages 6077
Published 2023-9-28
DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-41749-x
PII 10.1038/s41467-023-41749-x
PMID 37770450
PMC PMC10539368
MeSH Animals Neurites Neurons* / metabolism Pyramidal Cells / physiology Somatosensory Cortex / physiology Thalamus / physiology Vibrissae* / physiology
IF 12.121
Resource
Mice RBRC05154