Connect-seq to superimpose molecular on anatomical neural circuit maps.

ABSTRACT: The mouse brain contains about 75 million neurons interconnected in a vast array of neural circuits. The identities and functions of individual neuronal components of most circuits are undefined. Here we describe a method, termed "Connect-seq," which combines retrograde viral tracing and single-cell transcriptomics to uncover the molecular identities of upstream neurons in a specific circuit and the signaling molecules they use to communicate. Connect-seq can generate a molecular map that can be superimposed on a neuroanatomical map to permit molecular and genetic interrogation of how the neuronal components of a circuit control its function. Application of this method to hypothalamic neurons controlling physiological responses to fear and stress reveals subsets of upstream neurons that ex

SUBMITTER: Hanchate NK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7049128 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature