Farrell, K. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2020

BonVision - an open-source software to create and control visual environments

Real-time rendering of closed-loop visual environments is necessary for next-generation understanding of brain function and behaviour, but is prohibitively difficult for non-experts to implement and is limited to few laboratories worldwide. We developed BonVision as an easy-to-use open-source software for the display of virtual or augmented reality, as well as standard visual stimuli. As the architecture is based on the open-source Bonsai graphical programming language, BonVision benefits from native integration with experimental hardware. BonVision therefore enables easy implementation of closed-loop experiments, including real-time interaction with deep neural networks and communication with behavioural and physiological measurement and manipulation devices.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

17q21.31 sub-haplotypes underlying H1-associated risk for Parkinson's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy converge on altered glial regulation

Parkinsons disease (PD) is genetically associated with the H1 haplotype of the MAPT 17q.21.31 locus, although the causal gene and variants underlying this association have not been identified. To better understand the genetic contribution of this region to PD, we fine-mapped the 17q21.31 locus in order to identify novel mechanisms conferring risk for the disease. We identified three novel H1 sub-haplotype blocks across the 17q21.31 locus associated with PD risk. Protective sub-haplotypes were associated with increased LRRC37A/2 copy number and expression in human brain tissue. We found that LRRC37A/2 is a membrane-associated protein that plays a role in cellular migration, chemotaxis and astroglial inflammation. In human substantia nigra, LRRC37A/2 was primarily expressed in astrocytes, interacted directly with soluble -synuclein, and co-localized with Lewy bodies in PD brain tissue. These data indicate that a novel candidate gene, LRRC37A/2, contributes to the association between the 17q21.31 locus and PD via its interaction with -synuclein and its effects on astrocytic function and inflammatory response. These data are the first to associate the genetic association at the 17q21.31 locus with PD pathology, and highlight the importance of variation at the 17q21.31 locus in the regulation of multiple genes other than MAPT and KANSL1, as well as its relevance to non-neuronal cell types.

neuroscience↗