https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.08.023 Investigation of Oxtr-expressing Neurons Projecting to Nucleus Accumbens using Oxtr-ires-Cre Knock-in prairie Voles (Microtus ochrogaster) questions 1) How did the authors identify oxytocin-expressing neurons that project into the (NAcc)? ( mcq) options are ? a)They generated transgenic voles expressing a fluorescent protein under the control of a NAcc-specific promoter and co-stained for oxytocin b)They made transgenic voles expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the oxytocin promoter and introduced a CRE-dependent luminescent gene to neurons by infusing a virus into the nucleus accumbens c)They made transgenic voles expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the oxytocin promoter and introduced a CRE-dependent luminescent gene to neurons by infecting the entire vole with a virus d)They made transgenic voles expressing Green Fluorescent Protein under the control of the adeno-associated virus promoter and then infused adeno-associated virus into the nucleus accumbens 2) What transgene did the researchers introduce to vole
s? What gene’s promoter controls it? What system/technique was essential in generating the voles? 3) What technique did the authors use to show that and are colocalized in the brain? 4) Did the researchers use homozygous Cre/Cre voles or the heterozygous +/Cre in the experiments? What was the reason for choosing one and not the other? 5) What is “AAVrg-hSyn-DIO-EGFP”? It’s used in these experiments to trace neurons; how does it get into them? 6) In what regions of the brain (aside from the nucleus accumbens) do the researchers find cell bodies of oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons that extend into the nucleus accumbens? 7) Pick one region from the last question and describe what its function is. ? 8) What are the functions of the prelimbic cortex? What do you think is the significance of oxytoxin receptor-expressing neurons extending from the prelimbic cortex to the nucleus accumbens? 9) What are the functions of the olfactory bulb? What do you think is the significance of oxytoxin receptor-expressing neurons extending from the olfactory bulb to the nucleus accumbens?