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Abstract The blood brain barrier (BBB) has the essential function to protect the brain from potentially hazardous molecules while also enabling controlled selective uptake. How these processes and signaling inside BBB cells control neuronal function is an intense area of interest. Signaling in the adultDrosophilaBBB is required for normal male courtship behavior and relies on male‐specific molecules in the BBB. Here we show that the dopamine receptorD2Ris expressed in the BBB and is required in mature males for normal mating behavior. Conditional adult male knockdown ofD2Rin BBB cells causes courtship defects. The courtship defects observed in geneticD2Rmutants can be rescued by expression of normalD2Rspecifically in the BBB of adult males.DrosophilaBBB cells are glial cells. Our findings thus identify a specific glial function for theDR2receptor and dopamine signaling in the regulation of a complex behavior.
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Current Status and Future Strategies for Advancing Functional Circuit Mapping In Vivo
The human brain represents one of the most complex biological systems, containing billions of neurons interconnected through trillions of synapses. Inherent to the brain is a biochemical complexity involving ions, signaling molecules, and peptides that regulate neuronal activity and allow for short- and long-term adaptations. Large-scale and noninvasive imaging techniques, such as fMRI and EEG, have highlighted brain regions involved in specific functions and visualized connections between different brain areas. A major shortcoming, however, is the need for more information on specific cell types and neurotransmitters involved, as well as poor spatial and temporal resolution. Recent technologies have been advanced for neuronal circuit mapping and implemented in behaving model organisms to address this. Here, we highlight strategies for targeting specific neuronal subtypes, identifying, and releasing signaling molecules, controlling gene expression, and monitoring neuronal circuits in real-timein vivo. Combined, these approaches allow us to establish direct causal links from genes and molecules to the systems level and ultimately to cognitive processes.
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- PAR ID:
- 10532228
- Publisher / Repository:
- Society for Neuroscience
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Volume:
- 43
- Issue:
- 45
- ISSN:
- 0270-6474
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 7587 to 7598
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1391-23.2023
