Cited by 100Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorMemory and Neural Mechanisms

Multiscale single-cell analysis reveals unique phenotypes of raphe 5-HT neurons projecting to the forebrain

Fernandez, Sebastian Pablo, Cauli, Bruno, Cabezas, Carolina, Muzerelle, Aude, Poncer, Jean-Christophe, Gaspar, Patricia·2016·Brain Structure and Function

Abstract

Serotonergic neurons of the raphe nuclei exhibit anatomical, neurochemical and elecrophysiological heterogeneity that likely underpins their specific role in multiple behaviors. However, the precise organization of serotonin (5-HT) neurons to orchestrate 5-HT release patterns throughout the brain is not well understood. We compared the electrophysiological and neurochemical properties of dorsal and median raphe 5-HT neurons projecting to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), amygdala (BLA) and dorsal hippocampus (dHP), combining retrograde tract tracing with brain slice electrophysiology and single-cell RT-PCR in Pet1-EGFP mice. Our results show that 5-HT neurons projecting to the dHP and the mPFC and the BLA form largely non-overlapping populations and that BLA-projecting neurons have characteristic excitability and membrane properties. In addition, using an unbiased clustering method that correlates anatomical, molecular and electrophysiological phenotypes, we find that 5-HT neurons with projections to the mPFC and the dHP segregate from those projecting to the BLA. Single-cell gene profiling showed a restricted expression of the peptide galanin in the population of 5-HT neurons projecting to the mPFC. Finally, cluster analysis allowed identifying an atypical subtype of 5-HT neuron with low excitability, long firing delays and preferential expression of the vesicular glutamate transporter type 3. Overall, these findings allow to define correlated anatomical and physiological identities of serotonin raphe neurons that help understanding how discrete raphe cells subpopulations account for the heterogeneous activities of the midbrain serotonergic system.

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Crossref · 10.1007/s00429-015-1142-4

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  • Accumulating evidence points to physiological and molecular heterogeneity within the DR serotonin system.

    “Accumulating evidence points to physiological and molecular heterogeneity within the DR serotonin system (Calizo et al., 2011; Cohen et al., 2015; Fernandez et al., 2016; Okaty et al., 2015).”

    From Anatomically defined and functionally distinct dorsal raphe serotonin sub-systems (2018) · cites this paper as Fernandez et al., 2016

  • The electrophysiological properties of DR serotonin neurons vary according to the projection patterns.

    “The electrophysiological properties of DR serotonin neurons vary according to the projection patterns (Fernandez et al., 2016).”
  • Serotonin neurons in the MR and DR have different electrophysiological characteristics, such as resting potential, membrane resistance, and reaction to serotonin receptor-1A agonist.

    “Slice physiology recording showed that the serotonin neurons in the MR and DR have different electrophysiological characteristics, such as resting potential, membrane resistance, and reaction to serotonin receptor-1A agonist (Calizo et al., 2011; Fernandez et al., 2016).”
  • Even bona fide DRN 5-HT neurons are molecularly, anatomically, and physiologically heterogeneous.

    “Even bona fide DRN 5-HT neurons are molecularly, anatomically, and physiologically heterogeneous.”

    From Molecular and anatomical organization of the dorsal raphe nucleus (2019) · cites this paper as Fernandez et al., 2016

  • DRN 5-HT neurons in different subregions express different G protein-coupled receptors and vesicular transporters.

    “Although DRN 5-HT neurons share a common developmental lineage (Deneris and Gaspar, 2018; Jensen et al., 2008), DRN 5-HT neurons in different subregions express different G protein-coupled receptors and vesicular transporters, suggesting spatial clustering of functionally specialized neurons (Calizo et al., 2011; Fernandez et al., 2016; Lowry et al., 2000; Templin et al., 2012).”

    From Molecular and anatomical organization of the dorsal raphe nucleus (2019) · cites this paper as Fernandez et al., 2016

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Authors
Fernandez, S. P., Cauli, B., Cabezas, C., Muzerelle, A., Poncer, J.-C., & Gaspar, P.
Affiliations
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
  • Inserm (FR)
Venue
Brain Structure and Function
Published
2015-11-25
Volume
221
Issue
8
Pages
4007-4025
ISSN
  • 1863-2653 (ISSN-L)
  • 1863-2661
OpenAlex
W2173903421
Cited by
100
References
77
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 10
FWCI
5.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Brain Structure and Function (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • European Research Council (BE) (FP7-health-2007-A-201714)
  • Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FR) (equipe FRM, Fellowship)
  • ANR (France) (ANR605-neur-046)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Keywords
serotonergic neurons, dorsal raphe nucleus, median raphe, medial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, dorsal hippocampus, neuronal heterogeneity, galanin, VGLUT3, neuronal excitability, single-cell transcriptomics, neuronal cell types
MeSH terms
Action Potentials, Amygdala, Animals, Hippocampus, Mice, Transgenic, Neural Pathways, Phenotype, Raphe Nuclei, Prosencephalon, Prefrontal Cortex, Mice, Neuroanatomical Tract-Tracing Techniques, Single-Cell Analysis, Serotonergic Neurons

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