Genetic Dissection of Catecholaminergic Innervation of the Cognitive Cerebellum

对人类和非人类灵长类动物的研究已经确定了一个齿状核区域， 小脑（DCN），或啮齿动物的外侧核（LCN），在 涉及复杂的空间和顺序规划的认知任务的性能。我们有 先前表明多巴胺D1受体标记LCN中的神经元群体， 相似的空间分布，并调节与以下相关的几项任务的认知表现： 注意力和工作记忆，并与大脑的其他部分， 参与这些功能。DCN与人类的认知功能有关 精神疾病，但几乎没有人知道它的基本解剖和功能 organization.解开这个问题将为认知领域的精确治疗奠定基础， 在这个领域我们几乎没有什么选择我们假设蓝斑是 LCN中多巴胺和去甲肾上腺素释放主要来源是 需要小脑的注意力和工作记忆任务的增强，和蓝斑 神经元以阶段性方式释放儿茶酚胺。我们绘制了LC的投影图， DCN，并发现当我们电刺激LC时，我们可以观察到儿茶酚胺 在麻醉动物中用快速扫描循环伏安法测定LCN中的释放。我们还 发现当我们关闭LCN中酪氨酸羟化酶的表达时， 在感觉辨别、工作记忆和冲动行为方面的表现。这里我们 建议建立基本的电生理学，解剖学和行为功能，这些 使用Cre驱动小鼠系与基于病毒的先进技术相结合 电路解剖成功地完成我们提出的目标将提供新的见解， LCN的基本组织，并建立一个新的，精确的治疗框架， 帮助认知功能障碍的患者。

Studies in humans and non-human primates have identified a region of the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum (DCN), or lateral nucleus in rodents (LCN), which is activated during performance of cognitive tasks involving complex spatial and sequential planning. We have previously shown that the dopamine D1 receptor marks a population of neurons in the LCN with similar spatial distribution and regulates cognitive performance on several tasks related to attention and working memory, and has connections with other parts of the brain that are classically involved in these functions. The DCN is implicated in cognitive function in humans with psychiatric illnesses, but virtually nothing is known about its basic anatomical and functional organization. Unraveling this will set the stage for precision therapeutics in the cognitive domain, an area where we have few options to offer patients. We hypothesized that the locus ceruleus is the principal source of both dopamine and norepinephrine release in LCN, catecholamines are required for cerebellar enhancement of attention and working memory tasks, and locus ceruleus neurons release catecholamines in a phasic manner. We have mapped projections of the LC to DCN, and have found that when we electrically stimulate the LC, we can observe catecholamine release in the LCN with fast scan cyclic voltammetry in anesthetized animals. We have also found that when we turn off tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the LCN, we get abnormal performance on sensory discrimination, working memory, and impulsive behaviors. Here we propose to establish the basic electrophysiological, anatomical, and behavioral function of these pathways using Cre driver mouse lines in combination with advanced techniques in viral-based circuit dissection. Successful completion of our proposed aims will provide novel insight into the basic organization of the LCN and establish a framework for novel, precision therapeutics to assist patients with cognitive dysfunction.