Shenqin Yao

Abstract The mammalian brain consists of diverse neuron types with various functions. Recent single-cell RNA sequencing approaches have led to a whole-brain taxonomy of transcriptomically defined cell types1. Patch-seq experiments augment these cell-type descriptions by linking transcriptomic profiles with local morphological and electrophysiological properties2,3,4,5,6,7. However, linking transcriptomic identities to long-range axonal projections remains a major unresolved challenge.

Abstract The basal ganglia comprise interconnected subcortical nuclei essential for motor control, learning, emotion and cognition, yet how cell types relate to their circuit organization remains elusive. Here we show that spatial patterns of transcriptomic cell types in the basal ganglia and thalamic parafascicular nucleus relate to module-organized cortical inputs in the mouse.

Results Monosynaptic tracing can be achieved using a rabies virus that is engineered to be EnvA-pseudotyped and glycoprotein (G) deficient.21 Pseudotyping ensures that the rabies virus can enter only a set of experimenter-specified neurons (“starter cells”) that express the EnvA receptor (TVA). The deletion of G means that the rabies virus cannot spread, except from the starter cells in which G is expressed as a transgene.