The lateral habenula (LHb) is a bilateral brain structure implicated in action selection, reward processing, and motivation. The LHb projects to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dorsal raphe nucleus (DNR), and is thus involved in both dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways. Recent single-cell transcriptomic profiling of the LHb has revealed that it consists of four neuronal subtypes that are localized into four subregions. These have been designated as the HbX, lateral, oval/medial, and marginal subregions of the LHb. Each subregion is marked by non-overlapping genes. Cre mouse lines can be used as a tool to target these genes and thus manipulate these subtypes. This project utilizes fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to genetically characterize the Sst-Cre mouse line to target the HbX subtype and the Kcnc1-Cre mouse line to target the marginal subtype. Investigating the specific effects of these subtypes can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of LHb function and dysfunction.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/48353 |
| Date | 06 March 2024 |
| Creators | Natesan, Arundhati |
| Contributors | Wallace, Michael L. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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