Brain Networks of Connectionally Unique Basolateral Amygdala Cell Types

Abstract

Different brain regions structurally interconnected through networks regulate behavior output. Therefore, understanding the functional organization of the brain in health and disease necessitates a foundational anatomic roadmap to its network organization. To provide this to the research community, our lab has systematically traced thousands of pathways in the mouse brain and has applied computational measures to determine the network architecture of major brain systems. Toward this effort, the brain-wide networks of the basolateral amygdalar complex (BLA) were recently generated. The data revealed uniquely connected cell types within the same BLA nucleus that were constituents of distinct neural networks. Here, we elaborate on how these connectionally unique BLA cell types fit within the larger cortico-basal ganglia and limbic networks that were previously described by our team. The significance and utility of high quality, detailed anatomic data is also discussed.