Garret Stuber - Molecular and Functional Phenotyping of Habenula Circuitry

ViDA 2021 - Tuesday June 22nd 2021
Garret Stuber
Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Molecular and Functional Phenotyping of Habenula Circuitry
The habenula complex is appreciated as a critical regulator of motivated and pathological behavioral states via its output to midbrain nuclei. Despite this, transcriptional definition of cell populations that comprise both the medial (MHb) and lateral habenular (LHb) subregions in mammals remain undefined. To resolve this, we performed single-cell transcriptional profiling and highly multiplexed in situ hybridization experiments of the mouse habenula complex in naïve mice and those exposed to an acute aversive stimulus. Transcriptionally distinct neuronal cell types identified within the MHb and LHb, were spatially defined, differentially engaged by aversive stimuli and had distinct electrophysiological properties. Cell types identified in mice, also displayed a high degree of transcriptional similarity to those previously described in zebrafish, highlighting the well conserved nature of habenular cell types across the phylum. These data identify key molecular targets within habenular cell types, and provide a critical resource for future studies.