Journal Staff

The present work aims to prepare a study that will investigate the role of serotonin in respect to impulsive behaviour in rats. The methodology followed employs behavioural testing, based on operant conditioning, which will be later combined with optogenetic stimulations. The stimulations will be applied to the animals in order to influence their serotonergic system. For the implementation of this project, an experimental set up was built that consists of an operant behavioural box, connected through microcontrollers with a computer and a laser. Also, three different behavioural protocols were designed: Autoshaping, Cue Matching and Peak Interval. Autoshaping has a training character, whereas the other two tasks are used in order to study the different aspects of impulsive behaviour. The results without the laser stimulations that will be obtained from these experimental tasks will be used as control, in order to allow the comparison with the results from the experiments employing the laser stimulations.Syftet med denna studie är att utforma ett experiment där rollen av serotonerga neuron undersöks under impulsivt beteende i råtta. Metoden vi använt är operant betigning som senare ska kombineras optogenetik. Med optogenitik kan vi styra utsöndringen av serotonin med ljus. För att kunna studera impulsivt beteende, med eller utan denna frisättning av serotonin, introducerade vi djuret för ett beteendeparadigm med eller utan optogenetisk stimulering. Tre olika protokoll utformades, autoshaping, cue matching och peak interval. Protokollet för autoshaping används vid djurets träningsfas (inlärningsfas) medan de två andra användes för att testa olika typer av impulsivt beteende. Resultaten från dessa tre beteendeparadigm utan optogenetisk stimulering har används som baslinje för att kunna undersöka effekten serotonin har på impulsivt beteende

Behavioural Testing for the Study of Impulsivity in Rats

The present work aims to prepare a study that will investigate the role of serotonin in respect to impulsive behaviour in rats. The methodology followed employs behavioural testing, based on operant conditioning, which will be later combined with optogenetic stimulations. The stimulations will be applied to the animals in order to influence their serotonergic system. For the implementation of this project, an experimental set up was built that consists of an operant behavioural box, connected through microcontrollers with a computer and a laser. Also, three different behavioural protocols were designed: Autoshaping, Cue Matching and Peak Interval. Autoshaping has a training character, whereas the other two tasks are used in order to study the different aspects of impulsive behaviour. The results without the laser stimulations that will be obtained from these experimental tasks will be used as control, in order to allow the comparison with the results from the experiments employing the laser stimulations.Syftet med denna studie är att utforma ett experiment där rollen av serotonerga neuron undersöks under impulsivt beteende i råtta. Metoden vi använt är operant betigning som senare ska kombineras optogenetik. Med optogenitik kan vi styra utsöndringen av serotonin med ljus. För att kunna studera impulsivt beteende, med eller utan denna frisättning av serotonin, introducerade vi djuret för ett beteendeparadigm med eller utan optogenetisk stimulering. Tre olika protokoll utformades, autoshaping, cue matching och peak interval. Protokollet för autoshaping används vid djurets träningsfas (inlärningsfas) medan de två andra användes för att testa olika typer av impulsivt beteende. Resultaten från dessa tre beteendeparadigm utan optogenetisk stimulering har används som baslinje för att kunna undersöka effekten serotonin har på impulsivt beteende

Electrophysiological, transcriptomic and morphologic profiling of single neurons using Patch-seq

Despite the importance of the mammalian neocortex for complex cognitive processes, we still lack a comprehensive description of its cellular components. To improve the classification of neuronal cell types and the functional characterization of single neurons, we present Patch-seq, a method that combines whole-cell electrophysiological patch-clamp recordings, single-cell RNA-sequencing and morphological characterization. Following electrophysiological characterization, cell contents are aspirated through the patch-clamp pipette and prepared for RNA-sequencing. Using this approach, we generate electrophysiological and molecular profiles of 58 neocortical cells and show that gene expression patterns can be used to infer the morphological and physiological properties such as axonal arborization and action potential amplitude of individual neurons. Our results shed light on the molecular underpinnings of neuronal diversity and suggest that Patch-seq can facilitate the classification of cell types in the nervous system