Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3700 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3700 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address:
Published: December 2022
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
The thalamus is the principal information hub of the vertebrate brain, with essential roles in sensory and motor information processing, attention, and memory. The complex array of thalamic nuclei develops from a restricted pool of neural progenitors. We apply longitudinal single-cell RNA sequencing and regional abrogation of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) to map the developmental trajectories of thalamic progenitors, intermediate progenitors, and post-mitotic neurons as they coalesce into distinct thalamic nuclei. These data reveal that the complex architecture of the thalamus is established early during embryonic brain development through the coordinated action of four cell differentiation lineages derived from Shh-dependent and -independent progenitors. We systematically characterize the gene expression programs that define these thalamic lineages across time and demonstrate how their disruption upon Shh depletion causes pronounced locomotor impairment resembling infantile Parkinson's disease. These results reveal key principles of thalamic development and provide mechanistic insights into neurodevelopmental disorders resulting from thalamic dysfunction.
Background: Longitudinal studies of family carers of people with intellectual disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic have been very rare. This study investigated trajectories of family-carer wellbeing and the impact of the caring role on carers' health over four time points measured during the COVID-19 pandemic and after all public health restrictions had been lifted (between December 2020 and late 2022) across the United Kingdom.
Methods: Family carers of adults with intellectual disabilities participated through a co-designed, online survey at four time points across the pandemic (2020-2022).
Reproductive success hinges on the presence of a robust and functional placenta. Examining the placenta provides insight about the progression of pregnancy and valuable information about the normal developmental trajectory of the fetus. The current limitations of using bulk RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis stem from the diverse composition of the placenta, hindering a comprehensive description of how distinct trophoblast cell expression patterns contribute to the establishment and sustenance of a successful pregnancy.
Background: The Special Issue articles describe six systems of parental interventions and developmental care several differences among each of the approaches. Nevertheless, on a deeper level there are profound similarities shared across the six systems. These similarities are at the heart of developmental care in general and parental interventions in particular.
SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Background: As part of the Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative in South Africa, the Bukhali health promotion intervention is being implemented by community health workers (CHW's) with young women in urban Soweto. The perspectives of these CHW's have not been fully explored.
Methods: A qualitative study was conducted to describe CHW's perspectives and experiences of delivering the Bukhali intervention.
