Prenatal thalamic waves regulate cortical area size prior to sensory processing.

The cerebral cortex is organized into specialized sensory areas, whose initial territory is determined by intracortical molecular determinants. Yet, sensory cortical area size appears to be fine tuned during development to respond to functional adaptations. Here we demonstrate the existence of a prenatal sub-cortical mechanism that regulates the cortical areas size in mice. This mechanism is mediated by spontaneous thalamic calcium waves that propagate among sensory-modality thalamic nuclei up to the cortex and that provide a means of communication among sensory systems. Wave pattern alterations in one nucleus lead to changes in the pattern of the remaining ones, triggering changes in thalamic gene expression and cortical area size. Thus, silencing calcium waves in the auditory thalamus induces Rorß upregulation in a neighbouring somatosensory nucleus preluding the enlargement of the barrel-field. These findings reveal that embryonic thalamic calcium waves coordinate cortical sensory area patterning and plasticity prior to sensory information processing.

Genetic Labeling of Nuclei-Specific Thalamocortical Neurons Reveals Putative Sensory-Modality Specific Genes.

The thalamus is a central brain structure with topographically ordered long-range axonal projections that convey sensory information to the cortex via distinct nuclei. Although there is an increasing knowledge about genes important for thalamocortical (TC) development, the identification of genetic landmarks of the distinct thalamic nuclei during the embryonic development has not been addressed systematically. Indeed, a more comprehensive understanding of how the axons from the individual nuclei find their way and connect to their corresponding cortical area is called for. Here, we used a genetic dual labeling strategy in mice to purify distinct principal sensory thalamic neurons. Subsequent genome-wide transcriptome profiling revealed genes specifically expressed in each nucleus during embryonic development. Analysis of regulatory regions of the identified genes revealed key transcription factors and networks that likely underlie the specification of individual sensory-modality TC connections. Finally, the importance of correct axon targeting for the specific sensory-modality population transcriptome was evidenced in a Sema6A mutant, in which visual TC axons are derailed at embryonic life. In sum, our data determined the developmental transcriptional profile of the TC neurons that will eventually support sensory processing.

DCC functions as an accelerator of thalamocortical axonal growth downstream of spontaneous thalamic activity.

Controlling the axon growth rate is fundamental when establishing brain connections. Using the thalamocortical system as a model, we previously showed that spontaneous calcium activity influences the growth rate of thalamocortical axons by regulating the transcription of Robo1 through an NF-κB-binding site in its promoter. Robo1 acts as a brake on the growth of thalamocortical axons in vivo. Here, we have identified the Netrin-1 receptor DCC as an accelerator for thalamic axon growth. Dcc transcription is regulated by spontaneous calcium activity in thalamocortical neurons and activating DCC signaling restores normal axon growth in electrically silenced neurons. Moreover, we identified an AP-1-binding site in the Dcc promoter that is crucial for the activity-dependent regulation of this gene. In summary, we have identified the Dcc gene as a novel downstream target of spontaneous calcium activity involved in axon growth. Together with our previous data, we demonstrate a mechanism to control axon growth that relies on the activity-dependent regulation of two functionally opposed receptors, Robo1 and DCC. These two proteins establish a tight and efficient means to regulate activity-guided axon growth in order to correctly establish neuronal connections during development.