Neuronal cell types, projections, and spatial organization of the central amygdala
Timothy P. O’Leary,
Rennie M. Kendrick,
Brianna N. Bristow,
Kaitlin E. Sullivan,
Lihua Wang,
Jody Clements,
Andrew L. Lemire,
Mark S. Cembrowski
Affiliations
Timothy P. O’Leary
Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Rennie M. Kendrick
Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Brianna N. Bristow
Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Kaitlin E. Sullivan
Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Lihua Wang
Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA
Jody Clements
Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA
Andrew L. Lemire
Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA
Mark S. Cembrowski
Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Corresponding author
Summary: The central amygdala (CEA) has been richly studied for interpreting function and behavior according to specific cell types and circuits. Such work has typically defined molecular cell types by classical inhibitory marker genes; consequently, whether marker-gene-defined cell types exhaustively cover the CEA and co-vary with connectivity remains unresolved. Here, we combined single-cell RNA sequencing, multiplexed fluorescent in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, and long-range projection mapping to derive a “bottom-up” understanding of CEA cell types. In doing so, we identify two major cell types, encompassing one-third of all CEA neurons, that have gone unresolved in previous studies. In spatially mapping these novel types, we identify a non-canonical CEA subdomain associated with Nr2f2 expression and uncover an Isl1-expressing medial cell type that accounts for many long-range CEA projections. Our results reveal new CEA organizational principles across cell types and spatial scales and provide a framework for future work examining cell-type-specific behavior and function.
