Publications by authors named "Misaki Niu"
We recently reported that a neuronal population in the claustrum (CLA) identified under exposure to psychological stressors plays a key role in stress response processing. Upon stress exposure, the main inputs to the CLA come from the basolateral amygdala (BLA); however, the upstream brain regions that potentially regulate both the CLA and BLA during stressful experiences remain unclear. Here by combining activity-dependent viral retrograde labeling with whole brain imaging, we analyzed neurons projecting to the CLA and BLA activated by exposure to social defeat stress.
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- The study investigates the role of the claustrum (CLA) in managing stress and anxiety, revealing it as a key area for brain communication during stress responses.
- Researchers used advanced techniques like brain activation mapping and machine learning to show that CLA activation consistently indicates exposure to stress.
- The findings suggest that manipulating CLA activity can influence anxiety behaviors, with silencing the CLA during stress enhancing resilience against chronic stress effects.
Article Synopsis
- The dopamine system is crucial for various brain functions, including motor control, and blocking its receptors can lead to significant motor disorders like catalepsy and Parkinsonism.
- This study uses genetically modified mice to investigate brain activation patterns when exposed to two different dopamine receptor antagonists, SCH39166 and raclopride, which induce cataleptic behavior.
- Findings reveal that specific brain areas, particularly the orbital cortex and striatum, show altered connectivity that may explain the motor dysfunctions caused by these drugs, suggesting a common underlying mechanism but with distinct connectivity changes for each drug.
Here, we describe an optimized and detailed protocol for block-face serial microscopy tomography (FAST). FAST enables high-speed serial section fluorescence imaging of fixed brains at an axonal spatial resolution and subsequent image data processing. It renders brain-wide anatomical and functional analyses, including structural profiling of nuclear-stained brain at the single-cell level, cell-type-specific mapping with reporter animal brains and neuronal tracing with anterograde/retrograde labeling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubcellular resolution imaging of the whole brain and subsequent image analysis are prerequisites for understanding anatomical and functional brain networks. Here, we have developed a very high-speed serial-sectioning imaging system named FAST (block-face serial microscopy tomography), which acquires high-resolution images of a whole mouse brain in a speed range comparable to that of light-sheet fluorescence microscopy. FAST enables complete visualization of the brain at a resolution sufficient to resolve all cells and their subcellular structures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroRNAs (miRNAs) participate in a variety of functions in the brain. Understanding the localization of miRNAs is an important step for uncovering their roles in brain function. However, the detection of low-abundance miRNAs in brain tissues remains difficult and requires extensive optimization of hybridization (ISH) protocols in individual laboratories.
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