@article {2188, title = {Discovery of genomic loci of the human cerebral cortex using genetically informed brain atlases.}, journal = {Science}, volume = {375}, year = {2022}, month = {2022 02 04}, pages = {522-528}, abstract = {

To determine the impact of genetic variants on the brain, we used genetically informed brain atlases in genome-wide association studies of regional cortical surface area and thickness in 39,898 adults and 9136 children. We uncovered 440 genome-wide significant loci in the discovery cohort and 800 from a post hoc combined meta-analysis. Loci in adulthood were largely captured in childhood, showing signatures of negative selection, and were linked to early neurodevelopment and pathways associated with neuropsychiatric risk. Opposing gradations of decreased surface area and increased thickness were associated with common inversion polymorphisms. Inferior frontal regions, encompassing Broca{\textquoteright}s area, which is important for speech, were enriched for human-specific genomic elements. Thus, a mixed genetic landscape of conserved and human-specific features is concordant with brain hierarchy and morphogenetic gradients.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cerebral Cortex, Child, Chromatin, Cohort Studies, Female, Gene Ontology, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Loci, Genetic Variation, Genome, Human, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Mental Disorders, Middle Aged, Molecular Sequence Annotation, Multifactorial Inheritance, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid}, issn = {1095-9203}, doi = {10.1126/science.abe8457}, author = {Makowski, Carolina and van der Meer, Dennis and Dong, Weixiu and Wang, Hao and Wu, Yan and Zou, Jingjing and Liu, Cin and Rosenthal, Sara B and Hagler, Donald J and Fan, Chun Chieh and Kremen, William S and Andreassen, Ole A and Jernigan, Terry L and Dale, Anders M and Zhang, Kun and Visscher, Peter M and Yang, Jian and Chen, Chi-Hua} } @article {1685, title = {Apical-Basal Polarity Signaling Components, Lgl1 and aPKCs, Control Glutamatergic Synapse Number and Function.}, journal = {iScience}, volume = {20}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Oct 25}, pages = {25-41}, abstract = {

Normal synapse formation is fundamental to brain function. We show here that an apical-basal polarity (A-BP) protein, Lgl1, is present in the postsynaptic density and negatively regulates glutamatergic synapse numbers by antagonizing the atypical protein kinase Cs (aPKCs). A planar cell polarity protein, Vangl2, which inhibits synapse formation, was decreased in synaptosome fractions of cultured cortical neurons from Lgl1 knockout embryos. Conditional knockout of Lgl1 in pyramidal neurons led to reduction of AMPA/NMDA ratio and impaired plasticity. Lgl1 is frequently deleted in Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS). Lgl1 conditional knockout led to increased locomotion, impaired novel object recognition and social interaction. Lgl1+/- animals also showed increased synapse numbers, defects in open field and social interaction, as well as stereotyped repetitive behavior. Social interaction in Lgl1+/- could be rescued by NMDA antagonists. Our findings reveal a role of apical-basal polarity proteins in glutamatergic synapse development and function and also suggest a potential treatment for SMS patients with Lgl1 deletion.

}, issn = {2589-0042}, doi = {10.1016/j.isci.2019.09.005}, author = {Scott, John and Thakar, Sonal and Mao, Ye and Qin, Huaping and Hejran, Helen and Lee, Su-Yee and Yu, Ting and Klezovitch, Olga and Cheng, Hongqiang and Mu, Yongxin and Ghosh, Sourav and Vasioukhin, Valeri and Zou, Yimin} } @article {1684, title = {Evidence for opposing roles of Celsr3 and Vangl2 in glutamatergic synapse formation.}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, volume = {114}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 01 24}, pages = {E610-E618}, abstract = {

The signaling mechanisms that choreograph the assembly of the highly asymmetric pre- and postsynaptic structures are still poorly defined. Using synaptosome fractionation, immunostaining, and coimmunoprecipitation, we found that Celsr3 and Vangl2, core components of the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway, are localized at developing glutamatergic synapses and interact with key synaptic proteins. Pyramidal neurons from the hippocampus of Celsr3 knockout mice exhibit loss of \~{}50\% of glutamatergic synapses, but not inhibitory synapses, in culture. Wnts are known regulators of synapse formation, and our data reveal that Wnt5a inhibits glutamatergic synapses formed via Celsr3. To avoid affecting earlier developmental processes, such as axon guidance, we conditionally knocked out Celsr3 in the hippocampus 1 week after birth. The CA1 neurons that lost Celsr3 also showed a loss of \~{}50\% of glutamatergic synapses in vivo without affecting the inhibitory synapses assessed by miniature excitatory postsynaptic current (mEPSC) and electron microscopy. These animals displayed deficits in hippocampus-dependent behaviors in adulthood, including spatial learning and memory and fear conditioning. In contrast to Celsr3 conditional knockouts, we found that the conditional knockout of Vangl2 in the hippocampus 1 week after birth led to a large increase in synaptic density, as evaluated by mEPSC frequency and spine density. PCP signaling is mediated by multiple core components with antagonizing functions. Our results document the opposing roles of Celsr3 and Vangl2 in glutamatergic synapse formation.

}, keywords = {Animals, Behavior, Animal, Cadherins, Cell Polarity, Cells, Cultured, Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials, Glutamic Acid, Hippocampus, Locomotion, Male, Maze Learning, Mice, Knockout, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Pyramidal Cells, Receptors, Cell Surface, Synapses, Wnt-5a Protein}, issn = {1091-6490}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.1612062114}, author = {Thakar, Sonal and Wang, Liqing and Yu, Ting and Ye, Mao and Onishi, Keisuke and Scott, John and Qi, Jiaxuan and Fernandes, Catarina and Han, Xuemei and Yates, John R and Berg, Darwin K and Zou, Yimin} } @article {127, title = {Differential responses to lithium in hyperexcitable neurons from patients with bipolar disorder.}, journal = {Nature}, volume = {527}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Nov 5}, pages = {95-9}, abstract = {

Bipolar disorder is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder that is characterized by intermittent episodes of mania and depression; without treatment, 15\% of patients commit suicide. Hence, it has been ranked by the World Health Organization as a top disorder of morbidity and lost productivity. Previous neuropathological studies have revealed a series of alterations in the brains of patients with bipolar disorder or animal models, such as reduced glial cell number in the prefrontal cortex of patients, upregulated activities of the protein kinase A and C pathways and changes in neurotransmission. However, the roles and causation of these changes in bipolar disorder have been too complex to exactly determine the pathology of the disease. Furthermore, although some patients show remarkable improvement with lithium treatment for yet unknown reasons, others are refractory to lithium treatment. Therefore, developing an accurate and powerful biological model for bipolar disorder has been a challenge. The introduction of induced pluripotent stem-cell (iPSC) technology has provided a new approach. Here we have developed an iPSC model for human bipolar disorder and investigated the cellular phenotypes of hippocampal dentate gyrus-like neurons derived from iPSCs of patients with bipolar disorder. Guided by RNA sequencing expression profiling, we have detected mitochondrial abnormalities in young neurons from patients with bipolar disorder by using mitochondrial assays; in addition, using both patch-clamp recording and somatic Ca(2+) imaging, we have observed hyperactive action-potential firing. This hyperexcitability phenotype of young neurons in bipolar disorder was selectively reversed by lithium treatment only in neurons derived from patients who also responded to lithium treatment. Therefore, hyperexcitability is one early endophenotype of bipolar disorder, and our model of iPSCs in this disease might be useful in developing new therapies and drugs aimed at its clinical treatment.

}, keywords = {Action Potentials, Antipsychotic Agents, Bipolar Disorder, Calcium Signaling, Dentate Gyrus, Endophenotypes, Humans, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Lithium Compounds, Male, Mitochondria, Neurons, Patch-Clamp Techniques}, issn = {1476-4687}, doi = {10.1038/nature15526}, author = {Mertens, Jerome and Wang, Qiu-Wen and Kim, Yongsung and Yu, Diana X and Pham, Son and Yang, Bo and Zheng, Yi and Diffenderfer, Kenneth E and Zhang, Jian and Soltani, Sheila and Eames, Tameji and Schafer, Simon T and Boyer, Leah and Marchetto, Maria C and Nurnberger, John I and Calabrese, Joseph R and {\O}degaard, Ketil J and McCarthy, Michael J and Zandi, Peter P and Alda, Martin and Alba, Martin and Nievergelt, Caroline M and Mi, Shuangli and Brennand, Kristen J and Kelsoe, John R and Gage, Fred H and Yao, Jun} } @article {158, title = {Neuroscience. The brain activity map.}, journal = {Science}, volume = {339}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Mar 15}, pages = {1284-5}, keywords = {Brain Diseases, Brain Mapping, Hippocampus, Humans, Neural Pathways, Neurons}, issn = {1095-9203}, doi = {10.1126/science.1236939}, author = {Alivisatos, A Paul and Chun, Miyoung and Church, George M and Deisseroth, Karl and Donoghue, John P and Greenspan, Ralph J and McEuen, Paul L and Roukes, Michael L and Sejnowski, Terrence J and Weiss, Paul S and Yuste, Rafael} } @article {159, title = {The brain activity map project and the challenge of functional connectomics.}, journal = {Neuron}, volume = {74}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Jun 21}, pages = {970-4}, abstract = {

The function of neural circuits is an emergent property that arises from the coordinated activity of large numbers of neurons. To capture this, we propose launching a large-scale, international public effort, the Brain Activity Map Project, aimed at reconstructing the full record of neural activity across complete neural circuits. This technological challenge could prove to be an invaluable step toward understanding fundamental and pathological brain processes.

}, keywords = {Action Potentials, Brain, Brain Mapping, Humans, Models, Neurological, Nerve Net, Neural Pathways, Neurons}, issn = {1097-4199}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuron.2012.06.006}, author = {Alivisatos, A Paul and Chun, Miyoung and Church, George M and Greenspan, Ralph J and Roukes, Michael L and Yuste, Rafael} }