AI Article Synopsis
- The mammalian brain's complexity is crucial for its function, and recent advancements allow researchers to explore gene expression and brain connectivity more deeply.
- This protocol outlines a method for using combinatorial viral injections to selectively manipulate gene expression in specific neuron populations that connect two brain regions.
- By utilizing a dual-virus approach, this technique enables detailed studies of neural circuitry and gene functions within targeted neuron groups, offering insights into how different genes impact brain connections.
Article Abstract
The mammalian brain contains tremendous structural and genetic complexity that is vital for its function. The elucidation of gene expression profiles in the brain, coupled with the development of large-scale connectivity maps and emerging viral vector-based approaches for target-selective gene manipulation, now allow for detailed dissection of gene-circuit interfaces. This protocol details how to perform combinatorial viral injections to manipulate gene expression in subsets of neurons interconnecting two brain regions. This method utilizes stereotaxic injection of a retrograde transducing CAV2-Cre virus into one brain region, combined with injection of a locally transducing Cre-dependent AAV virus into another brain region. This technique is widely applicable to the genetic dissection of neural circuitry, as it enables selective expression of candidate genes, dominant-negatives, fluorescent reporters, or genetic tools within heterogeneous populations of neurons based upon their projection targets.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4242517 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/0471142301.ns0435s65 | DOI Listing |
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