[Seminar]"Functional activity of the descending dopaminergic system in zebrafish" by Dr. Sebastian Reinig

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Date: Thursday, August 9th

Time: 11:00 – 12:00

Venue: D015, Lab1

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Speaker: Dr. Sebastian Reinig 

Title: Functional activity of the descending dopaminergic system in zebrafish

Abstract: Dopamine is an important modulatory neurotransmitter involved in many functions like motor control, associative learning and other processes. In mammals, the A11 group of dopaminergic neurons is located in the diencephalon and presents the only dopaminergic innervation of the spinal cord and peripheral mechanosensory systems. The A11 group is associated with the Restless Legs Syndrome and the pathogenesis of chronic pain. However, not much is known about their function and which cues drive their activity. Zebrafish have dopaminergic neurons homologous to the A11 group in mammals. During the larval stage, zebrafish are transparent and the entire brain can be visualized in the intact and awake animal. Using 2-photon calcium imaging while simultaneously recording locomotion in response to visual and mechanosensory stimuli we found that specific subpopulations respond to either visual or mechanosensory input with tuning properties similar to sensory neurons. We also found that the sensory evoked activity is inhibited by motor activity. Since the A11 system itself projects to peripheral sensory systems, it is likely that the A11 system acts in a feedback loop to regulate the sensitivity of sensory systems. Taken together, this work represents the first comprehensive study on the activity of A11 like neurons in vertebrates revealing that these neurons are driven by specific sensory input.