Lab preprint on the anatomy of the interpeduncular nucleus

If you are just like us, you have probably spent years wondering about the structure of the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN). The wait is over! Read our new bioRxiv preprint: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.10.09.617353.

In it, You Kure Wu and Luigi Petrucco use immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy reconstructions, photoactivatable GFP, and functional calcium imaging to study the structure and internal organization of the IPN in larval zebrafish.

The IPN is known to receive input from the habenula, which is a highly evolutionary conserved pathway across vertebrates. This circuit is implicated in various behaviors such as anxiety, social responses, addiction, and navigation amongst others.

Nevertheless, the functional role of the IPN remains mysterious and its cytoarchitecture is poorly understood.

We showed that the IPN consists of the axons and dendrites of the neurons located in a wide range of the anterior hindbrain regions as well as the habenula and the local IPN cells. The connectivity suggests that the IPN can be largely divided into two distinct sub-circuits, dorsal and ventral, that are scarcely connected to each other.

The contribution of different cell types to the IPN can further separate the neuropils into multiple subregions. The population activity pattern of the habenular axons in the IPN resembles the local anatomical structure of the IPN rather than the distribution of the axons themselves, which suggests that the habenular axons’ activity is locally modulated in the IPN.

This study continues our research program on the heading direction network and navigation in larval zebrafish:

Lab preprint on the anatomy of the interpeduncular nucleus
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