Variation in Activity State, Axonal Projection, and Position Define the Transcriptional Identity of Individual Neocortical Projection Neurons.

ABSTRACT: Single-cell RNA sequencing has generated catalogs of transcriptionally defined neuronal subtypes of the brain. However, the cellular processes that contribute to neuronal subtype specification and transcriptional heterogeneity remain unclear. By comparing the gene expression profiles of single layer 6 corticothalamic neurons in somatosensory cortex, we show that transcriptional subtypes primarily reflect axonal projection pattern, laminar position within the cortex, and neuronal activity state. Pseudotemporal ordering of 1,023 cellular responses to sensory manipulation demonstrates that changes in expression of activity-induced genes both reinforced cell-type identity and contributed to increased transcriptional heterogeneity within each cell type. This is due to cell-type biased choices o

SUBMITTER: Chevee M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5863578 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature