@article {68297, title = {A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of complete insect nervous systems across multiple life stages.}, journal = {Neural Development}, volume = {17}, year = {2022}, month = {2022 Aug 24}, pages = {8}, abstract = {

Molecular profiles of neurons influence neural development and function but bridging the gap between genes, circuits, and behavior has been very difficult. Here we used single cell RNAseq to generate a complete gene expression atlas of the Drosophila larval central nervous system composed of 131,077 single cells across three developmental stages (1\ h, 24\ h and 48\ h after hatching). We identify 67 distinct cell clusters based on the patterns of gene expression. These include 31 functional mature larval neuron clusters, 1 ring gland cluster, 8 glial clusters, 6 neural precursor clusters, and 13 developing immature adult neuron clusters. Some clusters are present across all stages of larval development, while others are stage specific (such as developing adult neurons). We identify genes that are differentially expressed in each cluster, as well as genes that are differentially expressed at distinct stages of larval life. These differentially expressed genes provide promising candidates for regulating the function of specific neuronal and glial types in the larval nervous system, or the specification and differentiation of adult neurons. The cell transcriptome Atlas of the Drosophila larval nervous system is a valuable resource for developmental biology and systems neuroscience and provides a basis for elucidating how genes regulate neural development and function.

}, keywords = {Animals, Drosophila, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Larva, Neuroglia, Neurons, Transcriptome}, issn = {1749-8104}, doi = {10.1186/s13064-022-00164-6}, author = {Corrales, Marc and Cocanougher, Benjamin T and Kohn, Andrea B and Wittenbach, Jason D and Long, Xi S and Lemire, Andrew and Cardona, Albert and Singer, Robert H and Moroz, Leonid L and Zlatic, Marta} } @article {65364, title = {Recurrent interactions in local cortical circuits.}, journal = {Nature}, volume = {579}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 Mar 04}, pages = {256-59}, abstract = {

Most cortical synapses are local and excitatory. Local recurrent circuits could implement amplification, allowing pattern completion and other computations. Cortical circuits contain subnetworks that consist of neurons with similar receptive fields and increased connectivity relative to the network average. Cortical neurons that encode different types of information are spatially intermingled and distributed over large brain volumes, and this complexity has hindered attempts to probe the function of these subnetworks by perturbing them individually. Here we use computational modelling, optical recordings and manipulations to probe the function of recurrent coupling in layer 2/3 of the mouse vibrissal somatosensory cortex during active tactile discrimination. A neural circuit model of layer 2/3 revealed that recurrent excitation enhances sensory signals by amplification, but only for subnetworks with increased connectivity. Model networks with high amplification were sensitive to damage: loss of a few members of the subnetwork degraded stimulus encoding. We tested this prediction by mapping neuronal selectivity and photoablating neurons with specific selectivity. Ablation of a small proportion of layer 2/3 neurons (10-20, less than 5\% of the total) representing touch markedly reduced responses in the spared touch representation, but not in other representations. Ablations most strongly affected neurons with stimulus responses that were similar to those of the ablated population, which is also consistent with network models. Recurrence among cortical neurons with similar selectivity therefore drives input-specific amplification during behaviour.

}, issn = {1476-4687}, doi = {10.1038/s41586-020-2062-x}, author = {Peron, Simon and Pancholi, Ravi and Voelcker, Bettina and Wittenbach, Jason D and {\'O}lafsd{\'o}ttir, H Freyja and Freeman, Jeremy and Svoboda, Karel} } @article {65088, title = {MuscleViz: Free open-source software for muscle weakness visualization.}, journal = {Journal of Neuromuscular Diseases}, volume = {6}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 May 21}, pages = {263-266}, abstract = {

Muscle strength testing is routine in clinical practice. Here we provide an aid to the documentation and visual conceptualization of those results - MuscleViz: a free, open-source application for visualizing the results of muscle strength testing. Its use in clinical settings streamlines the communication of physical examination findings. The tool is also useful for presenting patient data in case reports or case series. A push towards free, open-source software has benefitted other areas of science; we believe a similar effort dedicated to the development of clinical tools is worth pursuing.

}, issn = {2214-3602}, doi = {10.3233/JND-190385}, author = {Wittenbach, Jason D and Cocanougher, Benjamin T and Yun, Pomi and Foley, A Reghan and B{\"o}nnemann, Carsten G} }