Neuron
Volume 75, Issue 4, 23 August 2012, Pages 648-662
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Article
Subcortical Visual Shell Nuclei Targeted by ipRGCs Develop from a Sox14+-GABAergic Progenitor and Require Sox14 to Regulate Daily Activity Rhythms

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Summary

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) and their nuclear targets in the subcortical visual shell (SVS) are components of the non-image-forming visual system, which regulates important physiological processes, including photoentrainment of the circadian rhythm. While ipRGCs have been the subject of much recent research, less is known about their central targets and how they develop to support specific behavioral functions. We describe Sox14 as a marker to follow the ontogeny of the SVS and find that the complex forms from two narrow stripes of Dlx2-negative GABAergic progenitors in the early diencephalon through sequential waves of tangential migration. We characterize the requirement for Sox14 to orchestrate the correct distribution of neurons among the different nuclei of the network and describe how Sox14 expression is required both to ensure robustness in circadian entrainment and for masking of motor activity.

Highlights

► Diencephalic Dlx2−, Helt+, Tal1+, Sox14+ neurons are GABAergic progenitors of the SVS ► Tangential migration mediates SVS network formation ► Sox14 loss of function results in anatomical defects in the SVS ► The SVS is an important modulator of circadian behaviors

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Present address: Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, 4 Soranou Ephessiou Street, 115 27 Athens, Greece