Specification of oxytocinergic and vasopressinergic circuits in the developing mouse brain

AbstractOxytocin (OXT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) support sex-specific and context-appropriate social behaviors. Although alterations of these systems underlie the appearance of neuropsychiatric disorders, their formation and developmental dynamics remain largely unknown. Using novel brain clearing techniques and 3D imaging, we have reconstructed the specification of oxytocinergic and vasopressinergic circuits in the developing mouse brain with unprecedented cellular resolution. A systematic quantification indicates that OXT and AVP neurons in the hypothalamus display distinctive dynamics, but also share common features as a high cellular plasticity from embryonic to early postnatal stages. Our findings reveal new insights into the appearance and consolidation of neuropeptidergic systems in the developing CNS which is a critical step to unveil brain formation and function.

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Specification of oxytocinergic and vasopressinergic circuits in the developing mouse brain

Communications Biology ◽

10.1038/s42003-021-02110-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

María del Pilar Madrigal ◽

Sandra Jurado

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Mouse Brain ◽

Arginine Vasopressin ◽

3D Imaging ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Cellular Resolution ◽

Developing Mouse Brain ◽

Developmental Dynamics ◽

Appropriate Social Behaviors

AbstractOxytocin (OXT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) support a broad range of behaviors and homeostatic functions including sex-specific and context-appropriate social behaviors. Although the alterations of these systems have been linked with social-related disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, their formation and developmental dynamics remain largely unknown. Using novel brain clearing techniques and 3D imaging, we have reconstructed the specification of oxytocinergic and vasopressinergic circuits in the developing mouse brain with unprecedented cellular resolution. A systematic quantification indicates that OXT and AVP neurons in the hypothalamus display distinctive developmental dynamics and high cellular plasticity from embryonic to early postnatal stages. Our findings reveal new insights into the specification and consolidation of neuropeptidergic systems in the developing CNS.

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Constructing and optimizing 3D atlases from 2D data with application to the developing mouse brain

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.61408 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Author(s):

David M Young ◽

Siavash Fazel Darbandi ◽

Grace Schwartz ◽

Zachary Bonzell ◽

Deniz Yuruk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mouse Brain ◽

3D Imaging ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Brain Atlas ◽

Imaging Data ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative ◽

Atlas Construction ◽

Manual Curation ◽

Developing Mouse Brain ◽

2D Data

3D imaging data necessitate 3D reference atlases for accurate quantitative interpretation. Existing computational methods to generate 3D atlases from 2D-derived atlases result in extensive artifacts, while manual curation approaches are labor-intensive. We present a computational approach for 3D atlas construction that substantially reduces artifacts by identifying anatomical boundaries in the underlying imaging data and using these to guide 3D transformation. Anatomical boundaries also allow extension of atlases to complete edge regions. Applying these methods to the eight developmental stages in the Allen Developing Mouse Brain Atlas (ADMBA) led to more comprehensive and accurate atlases. We generated imaging data from 15 whole mouse brains to validate atlas performance and observed qualitative and quantitative improvement (37% greater alignment between atlas and anatomical boundaries). We provide the pipeline as the MagellanMapper software and the eight 3D reconstructed ADMBA atlases. These resources facilitate whole-organ quantitative analysis between samples and across development.

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Constructing and Optimizing 3D Atlases From 2D Data With Application to the Developing Mouse Brain

10.1101/2020.04.01.017665 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

David M Young ◽

Siavash Fazel Darbandi ◽

Grace Schwartz ◽

Zachary Bonzell ◽

Deniz Yuruk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mouse Brain ◽

3D Imaging ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Brain Atlas ◽

Imaging Data ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative ◽

Atlas Construction ◽

Manual Curation ◽

Developing Mouse Brain ◽

2D Data

Abstract3D imaging data necessitate 3D reference atlases for accurate quantitative interpretation. Existing computational methods to generate 3D atlases from 2D-derived atlases result in extensive artifacts, while manual curation approaches are labor-intensive. We present a computational approach for 3D atlas construction that substantially reduces artifacts by identifying anatomical boundaries in the underlying imaging data and using these to guide 3D transformation. Anatomical boundaries also allow extension of atlases to complete edge regions. Applying these methods to the eight developmental stages in the Allen Developing Mouse Brain Atlas (ADMBA) led to more comprehensive and accurate atlases. We generated imaging data from fifteen whole mouse brains to validate atlas performance and observed qualitative and quantitative improvement (37% greater alignment between atlas and anatomical boundaries). We provide the methods as the MagellanMapper software and the eight 3D reconstructed ADMBA atlases. These resources facilitate whole-organ quantitative analysis between samples and across development.

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