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Engineering new synaptic connections in the C. elegans connectome
Most of what we currently know about how neural circuits work we owe to methods based on the electrical or optical recording of neural activity. This is changing dramatically. First, the advent of optogenetic techinques has enabled precise manipulation of the activity of specific neurons. Second, th...
Autores principales: | , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Taylor & Francis
2015
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4588382/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26430564 http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/21624054.2014.992668 |
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author | Rabinowitch, Ithai Schafer, William R |
author_facet | Rabinowitch, Ithai Schafer, William R |
author_sort | Rabinowitch, Ithai |
collection | PubMed |
description | Most of what we currently know about how neural circuits work we owe to methods based on the electrical or optical recording of neural activity. This is changing dramatically. First, the advent of optogenetic techinques has enabled precise manipulation of the activity of specific neurons. Second, the development of super-resolution methods for obtaining detailed maps of synaptic connectivity has paved the way for uncovering the connectomes of entire brains or brain regions. We describe a third and complementary new strategy for investigating and manipulating neural circuits: the artificial insertion of new synapses into existing neural circuits using genetic engineering tools. We have successfully accomplished this in C. elegans. Thus, In addition to being the first animal with an entirely mapped connectome, C. elegans is now also the first animal to have an editable connectome. Variations on this approach may be applicable in more complex nervous systems. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4588382 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2015 |
publisher | Taylor & Francis |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-45883822016-01-28 Engineering new synaptic connections in the C. elegans connectome Rabinowitch, Ithai Schafer, William R Worm Commentary Most of what we currently know about how neural circuits work we owe to methods based on the electrical or optical recording of neural activity. This is changing dramatically. First, the advent of optogenetic techinques has enabled precise manipulation of the activity of specific neurons. Second, the development of super-resolution methods for obtaining detailed maps of synaptic connectivity has paved the way for uncovering the connectomes of entire brains or brain regions. We describe a third and complementary new strategy for investigating and manipulating neural circuits: the artificial insertion of new synapses into existing neural circuits using genetic engineering tools. We have successfully accomplished this in C. elegans. Thus, In addition to being the first animal with an entirely mapped connectome, C. elegans is now also the first animal to have an editable connectome. Variations on this approach may be applicable in more complex nervous systems. Taylor & Francis 2015-01-28 /pmc/articles/PMC4588382/ /pubmed/26430564 http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/21624054.2014.992668 Text en © 2015 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted. |
spellingShingle | Commentary Rabinowitch, Ithai Schafer, William R Engineering new synaptic connections in the C. elegans connectome |
title | Engineering new synaptic connections in the C. elegans connectome |
title_full | Engineering new synaptic connections in the C. elegans connectome |
title_fullStr | Engineering new synaptic connections in the C. elegans connectome |
title_full_unstemmed | Engineering new synaptic connections in the C. elegans connectome |
title_short | Engineering new synaptic connections in the C. elegans connectome |
title_sort | engineering new synaptic connections in the c. elegans connectome |
topic | Commentary |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4588382/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26430564 http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/21624054.2014.992668 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT rabinowitchithai engineeringnewsynapticconnectionsinthecelegansconnectome AT schaferwilliamr engineeringnewsynapticconnectionsinthecelegansconnectome |