Virus brain-mapping technique

Virus brain-mapping technique uncovers circuits involved in Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease

June 28, 2013

Basal ganglia (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Gladstone Institutes and Salk Institute researchers have assembled brain-wide maps of neurons that connect with the basal ganglia, a region of the brain involved in movement and decision-making.

Developing a better understanding of this region is important as it could inform research into disorders causing basal ganglia dysfunction, including Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease.

Team leaders Gladstone Investigator Anatol Kreitzer, PhD, and Salk Investigator Edward Callaway, PhD combined mouse models with a sophisticated tracing technique known as the monosynaptic rabies virus system.