Transient and localized optogenetic activation of somatostatin-interneurons in mouse visual cortex abolishes long-term cortical plasticity due to vision loss

Unilateral vision loss through monocular enucleation (ME) results in partial reallocation of visual cortical territory to another sense in adult mice. The functional recovery of the visual cortex occurs through a combination of spared-eye potentiation and cross-modal reactivation driven by whisker-related, somatosensory inputs. Brain region-specific intracortical inhibition was recently recognized as a crucial regulator of the cross-modal component, yet the contribution of specific inhibitory neuron subpopulations remains poorly understood. Somatostatin (SST)-interneurons are ideally located within the cortical circuit to modulate sensory integration. Here we demonstrate that optogenetic stimulation of visual cortex SST-interneurons prior to eye removal decreases ME-induced cross-modal recovery at the stimulation site. Our results suggest that SST-interneurons act as local hubs, which are able to control the influx and extent of cortical cross-modal inputs into the deprived cortex. These insights critically expand our understanding of SST-interneuron-specific regulation of cortical plasticity induced by sensory loss.

A Tool for Brain-Wide Quantitative Analysis of Molecular Data upon Projection into a Planar View of Choice

Several techniques, allowing the reconstruction and visualization of functional, anatomical or molecular information from tissue and organ slices, have been developed over the years. Yet none allow direct comparison without reprocessing the same slices. Alternative methods using publicly available reference maps like the Allen Brain Atlas lack flexibility with respect to age and species. We propose a new approach to reconstruct a segmented region of interest from serial slices by projecting the optical density values representing a given molecular signal to a plane of view of choice, and to generalize the results into a reference map, which is built from the individual maps of all animals under study. Furthermore, to allow quantitative comparison between experimental conditions, a non-parametric pseudo t-test has been implemented. This new mapping tool was applied, optimized and validated making use of an in situ hybridization dataset that represents the spatiotemporal expression changes for the neuronal activity reporter gene zif268, in relation to cortical plasticity induced by monocular enucleation, covering the entire mouse visual cortex. The created top view maps of the mouse brain allow precisely delineating and interpreting 11 extrastriate areas surrounding mouse V1. As such, and because of the opportunity to create a planar projection of choice, these molecular maps can in the future easily be compared with functional or physiological imaging maps created with other techniques such as Ca2+, flavoprotein and optical imaging.

Retinal lesions induce fast intrinsic cortical plasticity in adult mouse visual system

Neuronal activity plays an important role in the development and structural-functional maintenance of the brain as well as in its life-long plastic response to changes in sensory stimulation. We characterized the impact of unilateral 15° laser lesions in the temporal lower visual field of the retina, on visually driven neuronal activity in the afferent visual pathway of adult mice using in situ hybridization for the activity reporter gene zif268. In the first days post-lesion, we detected a discrete zone of reduced zif268 expression in the contralateral hemisphere, spanning the border between the monocular segment of the primary visual cortex (V1) with extrastriate visual area V2M. We could not detect a clear lesion projection zone (LPZ) in areas lateral to V1 whereas medial to V2M, agranular and granular retrosplenial cortex showed decreased zif268 levels over their full extent. All affected areas displayed a return to normal zif268 levels, and this was faster in higher order visual areas than in V1. The lesion did, however, induce a permanent LPZ in the retinorecipient layers of the superior colliculus. We identified a retinotopy-based intrinsic capacity of adult mouse visual cortex to recover from restricted vision loss, with recovery speed reflecting the areal cortical magnification factor. Our observations predict incomplete visual field representations for areas lateral to V1 vs. lack of retinotopic organization for areas medial to V2M. The validation of this mouse model paves the way for future interrogations of cortical region- and cell-type-specific contributions to functional recovery, up to microcircuit level.

Serotype-dependent transduction efficiencies of recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors in monkey neocortex

Viral vector-mediated expression of genes (e.g., coding for opsins and designer receptors) has grown increasingly popular. Cell-type specific expression is achieved by altering viral vector tropism through crosspackaging or by cell-specific promoters driving gene expression. Detailed information about transduction properties of most recombinant adeno-associated viral vector (rAAV) serotypes in macaque cortex is gradually becoming available. Here, we compare transduction efficiencies and expression patterns of reporter genes in two macaque neocortical areas employing different rAAV serotypes and promoters. A short version of the calmodulin-kinase-II (CaMKIIα0.4) promoter resulted in reporter gene expression in cortical neurons for all tested rAAVs, albeit with different efficiencies for spread: rAAV2/5>>rAAV2/7>rAAV2/8>rAAV2/9>>rAAV2/1 and proportion of transduced cells: rAAV2/1>rAAV2/5>rAAV2/7=rAAV2/9>rAAV2/8. In contrast to rodent studies, the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter appeared least efficient in macaque cortex. The human synapsin-1 promoter preceded by the CMV enhancer (enhSyn1) produced homogeneous reporter gene expression across all layers, while two variants of the CaMKIIα promoter resulted in different laminar transduction patterns and cell specificities. Finally, differences in expression patterns were observed when the same viral vector was injected in two neocortical areas. Our results corroborate previous findings that reporter-gene expression patterns and efficiency of rAAV transduction depend on serotype, promoter, cortical layer, and area.

Evaluation of the expression pattern of rAAV2/1, 2/5, 2/7, 2/8, and 2/9 serotypes with different promoters in the mouse visual cortex

This study compared the expression pattern, laminar distribution, and cell specificity of several rAAV serotypes (2/1, 2/5, 2/7, 2/8, and 2/9) injected in the primary visual cortex (V1) of adult C57Bl/6J mice. In order to obtain specific expression in certain neuron subtypes, different promoter sequences were evaluated for excitatory cell specificity: a universal cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter, and two versions of the excitatory neuron-specific Ca(2+) /calmodulin-dependent kinase subunit α (CaMKIIα) promoter, CaMKIIα 0.4 and CaMKIIα 1.3. The spatial distribution as well as the cell type specificity was immunohistochemically verified. Depending on the rAAV serotype used, the transduced volume expressing reporter protein differed substantially (rAAV2/5 ≫ 2/7 ≈ 2/9 ≈ 2/8 ≫ 2/1). Excitatory neuron-specific targeting was promoter-dependent, with a surprising difference between the 1.3 kb and 0.4 kb CaMKIIα promoters. While CaMKIIα 1.3 and CMV carrying vectors were comparable, with 78% of the transduced neurons being excitatory for CMV and 82% for CaMKIIα 1.3, the shorter CaMKIIα 0.4 version resulted in 95% excitatory specificity. This study therefore puts forward the CaMKIIα 0.4 promoter as the best choice to target excitatory neurons with rAAVs. Together, these results can be used as an aid to select the most optimal vector system to deliver transgenes into specific rodent neocortical circuits, allowing further elucidation of their functions.

Ocular hypertension results in retinotopic alterations in the visual cortex of adult mice

PURPOSE

Glaucoma is a group of optic neuropathies characterized by the loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Since ocular hypertension (OHT) is a main risk factor, current therapies are predominantly based on lowering eye pressure. However, a subset of treated patients continues to lose vision. More research into pathological mechanisms underlying glaucoma is therefore warranted in order to develop novel therapeutic strategies. In this study we investigated the impact of OHT from eye to brain in mice.

METHODS

Monocular hypertension (mOHT) was induced in CD-1 mice by laser photocoagulation (LP) of the perilimbal and episcleral veins. The impact on the retina and its main direct target area, the superficial superior colliculus (sSC), was examined via immunostainings for Brn3a, VGluT2 and GFAP. Alterations in neuronal activity in V1 and extrastriate areas V2L and V2M were assessed using in situ hybridization for the activity reporter gene zif268.

RESULTS

Transient mOHT resulted in diffuse and sectorial RGC degeneration. In the sSC contralateral to the OHT eye, a decrease in VGluT2 immunopositive synaptic connections was detected one week post LP, which appeared to be retinotopically linked to the sectorial RGC degeneration patterns. In parallel, hypoactivity was discerned in contralateral retinotopic projection zones in V1 and V2. Despite complete cortical reactivation 4 weeks post LP, in the sSC no evidence for recovery of RGC synapse density was found and also the concomitant inflammation was not completely resolved. Nevertheless, sSC neurons appeared healthy upon histological inspection and subsequent analysis of cell density revealed no differences between the ipsi- and contralateral sSC.

CONCLUSION

In addition to RGC death, OHT induces loss of synaptic connections and neuronal activity in the visual pathway and is accompanied by an extensive immune response. Our findings stress the importance of looking beyond the eye and including the whole visual system in glaucoma research.

Behavioural alterations relevant to developmental brain disorders in mice with neonatally induced ventral hippocampal lesions

Neonatal lesioning of the ventral hippocampus (vHc) in rats has served as a useful heuristic animal model to elucidate neurodevelopmental mechanisms of schizophrenia (SCZ). In the current study we have established that this procedure can be applied to model SCZ symptomatology in mice. Neonatal mice (postnatal day 6) were anaesthetised by hypothermia and electrolytic lesions of the vHc were induced. We observed locomotor hyperactivity at prepubertal and adult age and hypersensitivity to amphetamine. Furthermore, working memory deficits were observed in Y-maze (spontaneous alternation) and T-maze (exploration of a novel arm) test protocols. Decreased anxious behaviour in the elevated plus maze and increased sociability were also observed. These changes were dependent on lesion size. No differences were observed in prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex, latent inhibition, spatial memory (Morris water maze), problem solving capacities (syringe puzzle) and ability to discriminate between different unfamiliar mice. The presented findings might further help to identify neurobiological mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dynamics of spatial frequency tuning in mouse visual cortex

Neuronal spatial frequency tuning in primary visual cortex (V1) substantially changes over time. In both primates and cats, a shift of the neuron's preferred spatial frequency has been observed from low frequencies early in the response to higher frequencies later in the response. In most cases, this shift is accompanied by a decreased tuning bandwidth. Recently, the mouse has gained attention as a suitable animal model to study the basic mechanisms of visual information processing, demonstrating similarities in basic neuronal response properties between rodents and highly visual mammals. Here we report the results of extracellular single-unit recordings in the anesthetized mouse where we analyzed the dynamics of spatial frequency tuning in V1 and the lateromedial area LM within the lateral extrastriate area V2L. We used a reverse-correlation technique to demonstrate that, as in monkeys and cats, the preferred spatial frequency of mouse V1 neurons shifted from low to higher frequencies later in the response. However, this was not correlated with a clear selectivity increase or enhanced suppression of responses to low spatial frequencies. These results suggest that the neuronal connections responsible for the temporal shift in spatial frequency tuning may considerably differ between mice and monkeys.