Department of Psychology-Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience, Rutgers University, 152 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA.
Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.
Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 25;14(1):25314. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-74732-7.
The mammalian cerebral cortex is composed of a rich diversity of cell types. Sensory cortical cells are organized into networks that rely on their functional diversity to ultimately carry out a variety of sophisticated cognitive functions for perception, learning, and memory. The auditory cortex (AC) has been most extensively studied for its experience-dependent effects, including for perceptual learning and associative memory. Here, we used single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) in the AC of the adult rat to investigate the breadth of transcriptionally diverse cell types that likely support the role of AC in experience-dependent functions. A variety of unique excitatory and inhibitory neuron subtypes were identified that harbor unique transcriptional profiles of genes with putative relevance for the adaptive neuroplasticity of cortical microcircuits. In addition, we report for the first time a diversity of astrocytes in AC that may represent functionally unique subtypes, including those that could integrate experience-dependent adult neuroplasticity at cortical synapses. Together, these results pave the way for building models of how cortical neurons work in concert with astrocytes to fulfill dynamic and experience-dependent cognitive functions.
哺乳动物大脑皮层由丰富多样的细胞类型组成。感觉皮层细胞组成网络，依赖其功能多样性来最终执行各种复杂的认知功能，包括感知、学习和记忆。听觉皮层 (AC) 因其依赖经验的效应而得到最广泛的研究，包括感知学习和联想记忆。在这里，我们使用成年大鼠 AC 的单细胞 RNA 测序 (snRNA-seq) 来研究可能支持 AC 在依赖经验的功能中的作用的转录多样性细胞类型的广度。鉴定出多种独特的兴奋性和抑制性神经元亚型，它们具有与皮质微电路的适应性神经可塑性相关的潜在相关基因的独特转录特征。此外，我们首次报告了 AC 中星形胶质细胞的多样性，这些细胞可能代表功能独特的亚型，包括那些可以整合皮质突触中依赖经验的成年神经可塑性的亚型。总之，这些结果为构建皮质神经元与星形胶质细胞协同工作以实现动态和依赖经验的认知功能的模型铺平了道路。
