The Amygdala Responds Rapidly to Flashes Linked to Direct Retinal Innervation: A Flash-evoked Potential Study Across Cortical and Subcortical Visual Pathways / 神经科学通报·英文版

Rapid detection and response to visual threats are critical for survival in animals. The amygdala (AMY) is hypothesized to be involved in this process, but how it interacts with the visual system to do this remains unclear. By recording flash-evoked potentials simultaneously from the superior colliculus (SC), lateral posterior nucleus of the thalamus, AMY, lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and visual cortex, which belong to the cortical and subcortical pathways for visual fear processing, we investigated the temporal relationship between these regions in visual processing in rats. A quick flash-evoked potential (FEP) component was identified in the AMY. This emerged as early as in the LGN and was approximately 25 ms prior to the earliest component recorded in the SC, which was assumed to be an important area in visual fear. This quick P1 component in the AMY was not affected by restraint stress or corticosterone injection, but was diminished by RU38486, a glucocorticoid receptor blocker. By injecting a monosynaptic retrograde AAV tracer into the AMY, we found that it received a direct projection from the retina. These results confirm the existence of a direct connection from the retina to the AMY, that the latency in the AMY to flashes is equivalent to that in the sensory thalamus, and that the response is modulated by glucocorticoids.

Generation of a Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome monkey model by base editing

Many human genetic diseases, including Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), are caused by single point mutations. HGPS is a rare disorder that causes premature aging and is usually caused by a de novo point mutation in the LMNA gene. Base editors (BEs) composed of a cytidine deaminase fused to CRISPR/Cas9 nickase are highly efficient at inducing C to T base conversions in a programmable manner and can be used to generate animal disease models with single amino-acid substitutions. Here, we generated the first HGPS monkey model by delivering a BE mRNA and guide RNA (gRNA) targeting the LMNA gene via microinjection into monkey zygotes. Five out of six newborn monkeys carried the mutation specifically at the target site. HGPS monkeys expressed the toxic form of lamin A, progerin, and recapitulated the typical HGPS phenotypes including growth retardation, bone alterations, and vascular abnormalities. Thus, this monkey model genetically and clinically mimics HGPS in humans, demonstrating that the BE system can efficiently and accurately generate patient-specific disease models in non-human primates.

Prepulse Inhibition of Auditory Cortical Responses in the Caudolateral Superior Temporal Gyrus in Macaca mulatta / 神经科学通报·英文版

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) refers to a decreased response to a startling stimulus when another weaker stimulus precedes it. Most PPI studies have focused on the physiological startle reflex and fewer have reported the PPI of cortical responses. We recorded local field potentials (LFPs) in four monkeys and investigated whether the PPI of auditory cortical responses (alpha, beta, and gamma oscillations and evoked potentials) can be demonstrated in the caudolateral belt of the superior temporal gyrus (STGcb). We also investigated whether the presence of a conspecific, which draws attention away from the auditory stimuli, affects the PPI of auditory cortical responses. The PPI paradigm consisted of Pulse-only and Prepulse + Pulse trials that were presented randomly while the monkey was alone (ALONE) and while another monkey was present in the same room (ACCOMP). The LFPs to the Pulse were significantly suppressed by the Prepulse thus, demonstrating PPI of cortical responses in the STGcb. The PPI-related inhibition of the N1 amplitude of the evoked responses and cortical oscillations to the Pulse were not affected by the presence of a conspecific. In contrast, gamma oscillations and the amplitude of the N1 response to Pulse-only were suppressed in the ACCOMP condition compared to the ALONE condition. These findings demonstrate PPI in the monkey STGcb and suggest that the PPI of auditory cortical responses in the monkey STGcb is a pre-attentive inhibitory process that is independent of attentional modulation.