Thomas J. Davidson

Neocortical excitation/inhibition balance in information processing and social dysfunction

Severe behavioural deficits in psychiatric diseases such as autism and schizophrenia have been hypothesized to arise from elevations in the cellular balance of excitation and inhibition (E/I balance) within neural microcircuitry. This hypothesis could unify diverse streams of pathophysiological and genetic evidence, but has not been susceptible to direct testing. Here we design and use several novel optogenetic tools to causally investigate the cellular E/I balance hypothesis in freely moving mammals, and explore the associated circuit physiology. Elevation, but not reduction, of cellular E/I balance within the mouse medial prefrontal cortex was found to elicit a profound impairment in cellular information processing, associated with specific behavioural impairments and increased high-frequency power in the 30–80 Hz range, which have both been observed in clinical conditions in humans. Consistent with the E/I balance hypothesis, compensatory elevation of inhibitory cell excitability partially rescued social deficits caused by E/I balance elevation. These results provide support for the elevated cellular E/I balance hypothesis of severe neuropsychiatric disease-related symptoms.

Optogenetics in Neural Systems

Both observational and perturbational technologies are essential for advancing the understanding of brain function and dysfunction. But while observational techniques have greatly advanced in the last century, techniques for perturbation that are matched to the speed and heterogeneity of neural systems have lagged behind. The technology of optogenetics represents a step toward addressing this disparity. Reliable and targetable single-component tools (which encompass both light sensation and effector function within a single protein) have enabled versatile new classes of investigation in the study of neural systems. Here we provide a primer on the application of optogenetics in neuroscience, focusing on the single-component tools and highlighting important problems, challenges, and technical considerations.

Structural and molecular interrogation of intact biological systems

Obtaining high-resolution information from a complex system, while maintaining the global perspective needed to understand system function, represents a key challenge in biology. Here we address this challenge with a method (termed CLARITY) for the transformation of intact tissue into a nanoporous hydrogel-hybridized form (crosslinked to a three-dimensional network of hydrophilic polymers) that is fully assembled but optically transparent and macromolecule-permeable. Using mouse brains, we show intact-tissue imaging of long-range projections, local circuit wiring, cellular relationships, subcellular structures, protein complexes, nucleic acids and neurotransmitters. CLARITY also enables intact-tissue in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry with multiple rounds of staining and de-staining in non-sectioned tissue, and antibody labelling throughout the intact adult mouse brain. Finally, we show that CLARITY enables fine structural analysis of clinical samples, including non-sectioned human tissue from a neuropsychiatric-disease setting, establishing a path for the transmutation of human tissue into a stable, intact and accessible form suitable for probing structural and molecular underpinnings of physiological function and disease.

Recombinase-Driver Rat Lines: Tools, Techniques, and Optogenetic Application to Dopamine-Mediated Reinforcement

Currently there is no general approach for achieving specific optogenetic control of genetically defined cell types in rats, which provide a powerful experimental system for numerous established neurophysiological and behavioral paradigms. To overcome this challenge we have generated genetically restricted recombinase-driver rat lines suitable for driving gene expression in specific cell types, expressing Cre recombinase under the control of large genomic regulatory regions (200-300 kb). Multiple tyrosine hydroxylase (Th)::Cre and choline acetyltransferase (Chat)::Cre lines were produced that exhibited specific opsin expression in targeted cell types. We additionally developed methods for utilizing optogenetic tools in freely moving rats and leveraged these technologies to clarify the causal relationship between dopamine (DA) neuron firing and positive reinforcement, observing that optical stimulation of DA neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of Th::Cre rats is sufficient to support vigorous intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS). These studies complement existing targeting approaches by extending the generalizability of optogenetics to traditionally non-genetically-tractable but vital animal models.

Closed-loop optogenetic control of thalamus as a tool for interrupting seizures after cortical injury

Cerebrocortical injuries such as stroke are a major source of disability. Maladaptive consequences can result from post-injury local reorganization of cortical circuits. For example, epilepsy is a common sequela of cortical stroke, but the mechanisms responsible for seizures following cortical injuries remain unknown. In addition to local reorganization, long-range, extra-cortical connections might be critical for seizure maintenance. In rats, we found that the thalamus, a structure that is remote from, but connected to, the injured cortex, was required to maintain cortical seizures. Thalamocortical neurons connected to the injured epileptic cortex underwent changes in HCN channel expression and became hyperexcitable. Targeting these neurons with a closed-loop optogenetic strategy revealed that reducing their activity in real-time was sufficient to immediately interrupt electrographic and behavioral seizures. This approach is of therapeutic interest for intractable epilepsy, as it spares cortical function between seizures, in contrast with existing treatments, such as surgical lesioning or drugs.

Highly Efficient Small Interfering RNA Delivery to Primary Mammalian Neurons Induces MicroRNA-Like Effects before mRNA Degradation

The study of protein function in neurons has been hindered by the lack of highly efficient, nontoxic methods of inducing RNA interference in such cells. Here we show that application of synthetic small interfering RNA (siRNA) linked to the vector peptide Penetratin1 results in rapid, highly efficient uptake of siRNA by entire populations of cultured primary mammalian hippocampal and sympathetic neurons. This treatment leads to specific knock-down of targeted proteins within hours without the toxicity associated with transfection. In contrast to current methods, our technique permits study of protein function across entire populations with minimal disturbance of complex cellular networks. Using this technique, we found that protein knock-down (evident after 6 hr) precedes any decrease in targeted message (evident after 24 hr), suggesting an early, translational repression by perfectly targeted siRNAs.

Intact-Brain Analyses Reveal Distinct Information Carried by SNc Dopamine Subcircuits

Recent progress in understanding the diversity of midbrain dopamine neurons has highlighted the importance--and the challenges--of defining mammalian neuronal cell types. Although neurons may be best categorized using inclusive criteria spanning biophysical properties, wiring of inputs, wiring of outputs, and activity during behavior, linking all of these measurements to cell types within the intact brains of living mammals has been difficult. Here, using an array of intact-brain circuit interrogation tools, including CLARITY, COLM, optogenetics, viral tracing, and fiber photometry, we explore the diversity of dopamine neurons within the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). We identify two parallel nigrostriatal dopamine neuron subpopulations differing in biophysical properties, input wiring, output wiring to dorsomedial striatum (DMS) versus dorsolateral striatum (DLS), and natural activity patterns during free behavior. Our results reveal independently operating nigrostriatal information streams, with implications for understanding the logic of dopaminergic feedback circuits and the diversity of mammalian neuronal cell types.

Thalamic control of sensory selection in divided attention

How the brain selects appropriate sensory inputs and suppresses distractors is unknown. Given the well-established role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in executive function, its interactions with sensory cortical areas during attention have been hypothesized to control sensory selection. To test this idea and, more generally, dissect the circuits underlying sensory selection, we developed a cross-modal divided-attention task in mice that allowed genetic access to this cognitive process. By optogenetically perturbing PFC function in a temporally precise window, the ability of mice to select appropriately between conflicting visual and auditory stimuli was diminished. Equivalent sensory thalamocortical manipulations showed that behaviour was causally dependent on PFC interactions with the sensory thalamus, not sensory cortex. Consistent with this notion, we found neurons of the visual thalamic reticular nucleus (visTRN) to exhibit PFC-dependent changes in firing rate predictive of the modality selected. visTRN activity was causal to performance as confirmed by bidirectional optogenetic manipulations of this subnetwork. Using a combination of electrophysiology and intracellular chloride photometry, we demonstrated that visTRN dynamically controls visual thalamic gain through feedforward inhibition. Our experiments introduce a new subcortical model of sensory selection, in which the PFC biases thalamic reticular subnetworks to control thalamic sensory gain, selecting appropriate inputs for further processing.

Basomedial amygdala mediates top-down control of anxiety and fear

Anxiety-related conditions are among the most difficult neuropsychiatric diseases to treat pharmacologically, but respond to cognitive therapies. There has therefore been interest in identifying relevant top-down pathways from cognitive control regions in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Identification of such pathways could contribute to our understanding of the cognitive regulation of affect, and provide pathways for intervention. Previous studies have suggested that dorsal and ventral mPFC subregions exert opposing effects on fear, as do subregions of other structures. However, precise causal targets for top-down connections among these diverse possibilities have not been established. Here we show that the basomedial amygdala (BMA) represents the major target of ventral mPFC in amygdala in mice. Moreover, BMA neurons differentiate safe and aversive environments, and BMA activation decreases fear-related freezing and high-anxiety states. Lastly, we show that the ventral mPFC–BMA projection implements top-down control of anxiety state and learned freezing, both at baseline and in stress-induced anxiety, defining a broadly relevant new top-down behavioural regulation pathway.

Simultaneous fast measurement of circuit dynamics at multiple sites across the mammalian brain

Real-time activity measurements from multiple specific cell populations and projections are likely to be important for understanding the brain as a dynamical system. Here we developed frame-projected independent-fiber photometry (FIP), which we used to record fluorescence activity signals from many brain regions simultaneously in freely behaving mice. We explored the versatility of the FIP microscope by quantifying real-time activity relationships among many brain regions during social behavior, simultaneously recording activity along multiple axonal pathways during sensory experience, performing simultaneous two-color activity recording, and applying optical perturbation tuned to elicit dynamics that match naturally occurring patterns observed during behavior.