The visual cortex is an essential part of the brain for processing visual information.It exhibits structural and functional plasticity,which is crucial for adapting to complex visual environments.The quintessential ma...The visual cortex is an essential part of the brain for processing visual information.It exhibits structural and functional plasticity,which is crucial for adapting to complex visual environments.The quintessential manifestation of visual cortical plasticity is ocular dominance plasticity during the critical period,which involves numerous cellular and molecular events.While previous studies have emphasized the role of visual cortical neurons and their associated functional molecules in visual plasticity,recent findings have revealed that structural factors such as the extracellular matrix and glia are also involved.Investigating how these molecules interact to form a complex network that facilitates plasticity in the visual cortex is crucial to our understanding of the development of the visual system and the advancement of therapeutic strategies for visual disorders like amblyopia.展开更多
The looming stimulus-evoked flight response to approaching predators is a defensive behavior in most animals. However, how looming stimuli are detected in the retina and transmitted to the brain remains unclear. Here,...The looming stimulus-evoked flight response to approaching predators is a defensive behavior in most animals. However, how looming stimuli are detected in the retina and transmitted to the brain remains unclear. Here, we report that a group of GABAergic retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) projecting to the superior colliculus (SC) transmit looming signals from the retina to the brain, mediating the looming-evoked flight behavior by releasing GABA. GAD2-Cre and vGAT-Cre transgenic mice were used in combination with Cre-activated anterograde or retrograde tracer viruses to map the inputs to specific GABAergic RGC circuits. Optogenetic technology was used to assess the function of SC-projecting GABAergic RGCs (scpgRGCs) in the SC. FDIO-DTA (Flp-dependent Double-Floxed Inverted Open reading frame-Diphtheria toxin) combined with the FLP (Florfenicol, Lincomycin & Prednisolone) approach was used to ablate or silence scpgRGCs. In the mouse retina, GABAergic RGCs project to different brain areas, including the SC. ScpgRGCs are monosynaptically connected to parvalbumin-positive SC neurons known to be required for the looming-evoked flight response. Optogenetic activation of scpgRGCs triggers GABA-mediated inhibition in SC neurons. Ablation or silencing of scpgRGCs compromises looming-evoked flight responses without affecting image-forming functions. Our study reveals that scpgRGCs control the looming-evoked flight response by regulating SC neurons via GABA, providing novel insight into the regulation of innate defensive behaviors.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81770956,81371049,32471055 and 82171090)Project of Tianjin 131 Innovative Talent Team(201936)+4 种基金the Science and Technology Planning Project of Tianjin(21JCYBJC00780)the Science and Technology Fund for Health of Tianjin(TJWJ2023ZD008)Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project(2018SHZDZX01)ZJLab,Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology,the Lingang Laboratory(LG-QS-202203-12)Tianjin Key Medical Discipline(Specialty)Construction Project(TJYXZDXK‑016A).
文摘The visual cortex is an essential part of the brain for processing visual information.It exhibits structural and functional plasticity,which is crucial for adapting to complex visual environments.The quintessential manifestation of visual cortical plasticity is ocular dominance plasticity during the critical period,which involves numerous cellular and molecular events.While previous studies have emphasized the role of visual cortical neurons and their associated functional molecules in visual plasticity,recent findings have revealed that structural factors such as the extracellular matrix and glia are also involved.Investigating how these molecules interact to form a complex network that facilitates plasticity in the visual cortex is crucial to our understanding of the development of the visual system and the advancement of therapeutic strategies for visual disorders like amblyopia.
基金supported by grants from the National Key R&D Program of China(2017YFE0103400)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81470628 and 82471086).
文摘The looming stimulus-evoked flight response to approaching predators is a defensive behavior in most animals. However, how looming stimuli are detected in the retina and transmitted to the brain remains unclear. Here, we report that a group of GABAergic retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) projecting to the superior colliculus (SC) transmit looming signals from the retina to the brain, mediating the looming-evoked flight behavior by releasing GABA. GAD2-Cre and vGAT-Cre transgenic mice were used in combination with Cre-activated anterograde or retrograde tracer viruses to map the inputs to specific GABAergic RGC circuits. Optogenetic technology was used to assess the function of SC-projecting GABAergic RGCs (scpgRGCs) in the SC. FDIO-DTA (Flp-dependent Double-Floxed Inverted Open reading frame-Diphtheria toxin) combined with the FLP (Florfenicol, Lincomycin & Prednisolone) approach was used to ablate or silence scpgRGCs. In the mouse retina, GABAergic RGCs project to different brain areas, including the SC. ScpgRGCs are monosynaptically connected to parvalbumin-positive SC neurons known to be required for the looming-evoked flight response. Optogenetic activation of scpgRGCs triggers GABA-mediated inhibition in SC neurons. Ablation or silencing of scpgRGCs compromises looming-evoked flight responses without affecting image-forming functions. Our study reveals that scpgRGCs control the looming-evoked flight response by regulating SC neurons via GABA, providing novel insight into the regulation of innate defensive behaviors.
