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Powell GT, Faro A, Zhao Y, Stickney H, Novellasdemunt L, Henriques P, Gestri G, White ER, Ren J, Lu W, Young RM, Hawkins TA, Cavodeassi F, Schwarz Q, Dreosti E, Raible DW, Li VSW, Wright GJ, Jones EY, Wilson SW. Cachd1 interacts with Wnt receptors and regulates neuronal asymmetry in the zebrafish brain. Science 2024; 384:573-579. [PMID: 38696577 PMCID: PMC7615972 DOI: 10.1126/science.ade6970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024]
Abstract
Neurons on the left and right sides of the nervous system often show asymmetric properties, but how such differences arise is poorly understood. Genetic screening in zebrafish revealed that loss of function of the transmembrane protein Cachd1 resulted in right-sided habenula neurons adopting left-sided identity. Cachd1 is expressed in neuronal progenitors, functions downstream of asymmetric environmental signals, and influences timing of the normally asymmetric patterns of neurogenesis. Biochemical and structural analyses demonstrated that Cachd1 can bind simultaneously to Lrp6 and Frizzled family Wnt co-receptors. Consistent with this, lrp6 mutant zebrafish lose asymmetry in the habenulae, and epistasis experiments support a role for Cachd1 in modulating Wnt pathway activity in the brain. These studies identify Cachd1 as a conserved Wnt receptor-interacting protein that regulates lateralized neuronal identity in the zebrafish brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gareth T. Powell
- Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London; London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute; Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Ana Faro
- Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London; London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Yuguang Zhao
- Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford; Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Heather Stickney
- Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London; London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Departments of Otolaryngology-HNS and Biological Structure, University of Washington; Seattle, WA 98195-7420, USA
- Ambry Genetics; Aliso Viejo, CA 92656, USA
| | - Laura Novellasdemunt
- The Francis Crick Institute; London, NW1 1AT, UK
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology; 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pedro Henriques
- Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London; London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Gaia Gestri
- Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London; London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | | | - Jingshan Ren
- Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford; Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Weixian Lu
- Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford; Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Rodrigo M. Young
- Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London; London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London; London, EC1V 9EL, UK
- Center for Integrative Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor; Camino La Piramide 5750, 8580745, Santiago, Chile
| | - Thomas A. Hawkins
- Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London; London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Florencia Cavodeassi
- Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London; London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- St. George’s, University of London; London, SW17 0RE, UK
| | - Quenten Schwarz
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London; London, EC1V 9EL, UK
| | - Elena Dreosti
- Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London; London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - David W. Raible
- Departments of Otolaryngology-HNS and Biological Structure, University of Washington; Seattle, WA 98195-7420, USA
| | | | - Gavin J. Wright
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute; Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK
- Department of Biology, Hull York Medical School, York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York; York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - E. Yvonne Jones
- Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford; Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Stephen W. Wilson
- Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London; London, WC1E 6BT, UK
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Ocklenburg S, El Basbasse Y, Ströckens F, Müller-Alcazar A. Hemispheric asymmetries and brain size in mammals. Commun Biol 2023; 6:521. [PMID: 37188844 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04894-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Hemispheric asymmetries differ considerably across species, but the neurophysiological base of this variation is unclear. It has been suggested that hemispheric asymmetries evolved to bypass interhemispheric conduction delay when performing time-critical tasks. This implies that large brains should be more asymmetric. We performed preregistered cross-species meta-regressions with brain mass and neuron number as predictors for limb preferences, a behavioral marker of hemispheric asymmetries, in mammals. Brain mass and neuron number showed positive associations with rightward limb preferences but negative associations with leftward limb preferences. No significant associations were found for ambilaterality. These results are only partly in line with the idea that conduction delay is the critical factor that drives the evolution of hemispheric asymmetries. They suggest that larger-brained species tend to shift towards more right-lateralized individuals. Therefore, the need for coordination of lateralized responses in social species needs to be considered in the context of the evolution of hemispheric asymmetries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Department of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
- Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
- Biopsychology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Yasmin El Basbasse
- Biopsychology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Felix Ströckens
- C. & O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Anett Müller-Alcazar
- Department of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Paradoxical Enhancement of Spatial Learning Induced by Right Hippocampal Lesion in Rats. Symmetry (Basel) 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/sym13112138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The left–right hemispheric differences in some brain functions are well known in humans. Among them, savant syndrome has unique features, such as exceptional abilities in vision, memory, computation, and music, despite brain abnormalities. In cases of acquired savant and transient savant, brain damage or inhibition is often seen in the left hemisphere, suggesting a link between left hemispheric dysfunction and these talents. On the other hand, some functional left–right differences have been reported in rodent brains, and therefore, unilateral damage in rodents may also result in savant-like enhancements. In the present study, we examined the effects of hippocampal damage on spatial learning in rats with left, right, or bilateral hippocampal lesion. The results showed that learning performance was impaired in the bilateral lesion group, and there was no significant difference in the left lesion group, while performance was enhanced in the right lesion group. These results suggest that damage to the right hippocampus in rats may lead to savant-like enhancement in learning and memory. The construction of the savant model through these results will contribute to the neuroscientific elucidation of the paradoxical phenomenon observed in savants, that some abilities are enhanced despite their brain dysfunction.
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Disconnection between Rat’s Left and Right Hemisphere Impairs Short-Term Memory but Not Long-Term Memory. Symmetry (Basel) 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/sym13101872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Split-brain experiments, which have been actively conducted since the twentieth century, have provided a great deal of insight into functional asymmetry and inter-hemispheric interactions. However, how communication between the left and right hemispheres directly contributes to memory formation is still poorly understood. To address this issue, we cut the rat commissural fibers prior to performing behavioral tests, which consisted of two short-term and two long-term memory tasks. The result showed that cutting the commissural fibers impairs short-term memory but not long-term memory. This suggests that the left-right hemispheric interaction through the commissural fibers contributes to the appropriate formation of short-term memory, but not that of long-term memory. Our findings would help to elucidate dynamic memory formation between the two hemispheres and contribute to the development of therapeutics for some neurological diseases which cause a reduction in the inter-hemispheric interaction.
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Rugani R, Regolin L. Approach direction and accuracy, but not response times, show spatial-numerical association in chicks. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257764. [PMID: 34591878 PMCID: PMC8483340 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Chicks trained to identify a target item in a sagittally-oriented series of identical items show a higher accuracy for the target on the left, rather than that on the right, at test when the series was rotated by 90°. Such bias seems to be due to a right hemispheric dominance in visuospatial tasks. Up to now, the bias was highlighted by looking at accuracy, the measure mostly used in non-human studies to detect spatial numerical association, SNA. In the present study, processing by each hemisphere was assessed by scoring three variables: accuracy, response times and direction of approach. Domestic chicks were tested under monocular vision conditions, as in the avian brain input to each eye is mostly processed by the contralateral hemisphere. Four-day-old chicks learnt to peck at the 4th element in a sagittal series of 10 identical elements. At test, when facing a series oriented fronto-parallel, birds confined their responses to the visible hemifield, with high accuracy for the 4th element. The first element in the series was also highly selected, suggesting an anchoring strategy to start the proto-counting at one end of the series. In the left monocular condition, chicks approached the series starting from the left, and in the right monocular condition, they started from the right. Both hemispheres appear to exploit the same strategy, scanning the series from the most lateral element in the clear hemifield. Remarkably, there was no effect in the response times: equal latency was scored for correct or incorrect and for left vs. right responses. Overall, these data indicate that the measures implying a direction of choice, accuracy and direction of approach, and not velocity, i.e., response times, can highlight SNA in this paradigm. We discuss the relevance of the selected measures to unveil SNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Rugani
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Lucia Regolin
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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