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Molecular genetics and imaging technologies for circuit-based neuroanatomy

Nature volume 461, pages 900–907 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Brain function emerges from the morphologies, spatial organization and patterns of connectivity established between diverse sets of neurons. Historically, the notion that neuronal structure predicts function stemmed from classic histological staining and neuronal tracing methods. Recent advances in molecular genetics and imaging technologies have begun to reveal previously unattainable details about patterns of functional circuit connectivity and the subcellular organization of synapses in the living brain. This sophisticated molecular and genetic 'toolbox', coupled with new methods in optical and electron microscopy, provides an expanding array of techniques for probing neural anatomy and function.

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Figure 1: Viral vectors for trans-synaptic labelling.
Figure 2: Conditional anatomy using the Brainbow system.

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Acknowledgements

We thank I. Davison, D. Fitzpatrick, M. Fernandez Suarez, K. Harris, J. Hernandez, M. Kennedy, A. Mabb, R. Mooney, T. Newpher, T. Roberts, C. Robinson, J. Schwartz, R. Weinberg, X. Zhuang and J. Yi for helpful input and comments on the manuscript. We apologize to those whose work we could not cite owing to space limitations. B.R.A. is supported by a K99 award from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Work in the lab of M.D.E. is supported by grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging of the NIH. M.D.E. is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

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    Benjamin R. Arenkiel & Michael D. Ehlers

  2. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3209, Durham, 27710, North Carolina, USA

    Michael D. Ehlers

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Arenkiel, B., Ehlers, M. Molecular genetics and imaging technologies for circuit-based neuroanatomy. Nature 461, 900–907 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08536

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