Image of the Month: The diversity of adult-born neurons
On the cover! The diversity of adult-born neurons. Different colors indicate different adult-born granule cell types and delineate their dendritic arborization patterns. This image is created in a pointillist style — a technique that, like single-cell RNA sequencing, appreciates each individual quantum that forms an image. The colors and pointillist style resemble plots that represent single-cell sequencing data. Courtesy of the Arenkiel lab/Patrick Hunt/Cell Reports, Dec. 4, 2018.
In his lab at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Benjamin Arenkiel and his colleagues study the basic genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms that guide the formation, function and maintenance of neural circuits in the mammalian brain. In the mouse model, they combine genetic engineering, viral mapping, optical imaging and electrophysiological recording techniques to uncover how neurons work.
The long-term objective of the Arenkiel lab is to gain knowledge towards repairing or replacing damaged or diseased nervous tissue.
In this study that made the cover of Cell Reports, Arenkiel and his colleagues described an innovative approach that identified novel cellular targets and genetic pathways involved in the wiring of adult-born neurons into existing brain circuits. For more information about this work, read the publication in Cell Reports and the article in From the Labs.
Dr. Benjamin Arenkiel is an associate professor of molecular and human genetics and of neuroscience, and a McNair Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine. He is also an investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital.
