The cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loop is one of the fundamental network motifs in the brain. Revealing its structural and functional organization is critical to understanding cognition, sensorimotor behaviour, and the natural history of many neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Classically, this network is conceptualized to contain three information channels: motor, limbic and associative.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe superior colliculus (SC) receives diverse and robust cortical inputs to drive a range of cognitive and sensorimotor behaviors. However, it remains unclear how descending cortical input arising from higher-order associative areas coordinate with SC sensorimotor networks to influence its outputs. Here, we construct a comprehensive map of all cortico-tectal projections and identify four collicular zones with differential cortical inputs: medial (SC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe basolateral amygdalar complex (BLA) is implicated in behaviors ranging from fear acquisition to addiction. Optogenetic methods have enabled the association of circuit-specific functions to uniquely connected BLA cell types. Thus, a systematic and detailed connectivity profile of BLA projection neurons to inform granular, cell type-specific interrogations is warranted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mammalian visual system is one of the most well-studied brain systems. Visual information from the retina is relayed to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus (LGd). The LGd then projects topographically to primary visual cortex (VISp) to mediate visual perception.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding the organization of the hippocampus is fundamental to understanding brain function related to learning, memory, emotions, and diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Physiological studies in humans and rodents have suggested that there is both structural and functional heterogeneity along the longitudinal axis of the hippocampus. However, the recent discovery of discrete gene expression domains in the mouse hippocampus has provided the opportunity to re-evaluate hippocampal connectivity.
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