Adding to its varied repertoire of functions in cell morphogenesis and cell division, a molecular motor protein of the kinesin-14 class has recently been implicated in rapid retrograde transport along cellular tracks in moss.

Recombinant rabies virus (RV) vectors expressing fluorescent proteins allow staining of neurons from many mammalian species and enable the study of neuron morphology. Because viral spread occurs only between neurons that have synaptic connections, these vectors also permit transsynaptic tracing. A recently established system for restriction of transsynaptic tracing to a single transsynaptic jum...

Glycoprotein-deleted rabies virus-mediated monosynaptic tracing has become a standard method for neuronal circuit mapping, and is applied to virtually all parts of the rodent nervous system, including the spinal cord and primary sensory neurons. Here we identified two classes of unmyelinated sensory neurons (nonpeptidergic and C-fiber low-threshold mechanoreceptor neurons) resistant to direct a...

Biotinylated compounds are commonly used to label neuronal cell bodies via intracellular filling or retrograde tracing. Endogenous concentrations of biotin within a subset of neuronal cell bodies would pose a problem for interpreting such experiments. Here I report that a subset of turtle spinal cord neuronal cell bodies strongly stains for biotin, using the avidin-biotin-horseradish peroxidase...

We have investigated the morphological relationship between auditory cortex efferents and medial olivocochlear neurones. Using combined retrograde and anterograde tracing we describe close contacts between medial olivocochlear neurones and corticofugal terminals in the ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body. The data indicate a possible direct action of the auditory cortex on the activity of the...

Many response properties in primary auditory cortex (AI) are segregated spatially and organized topographically as those in primary visual cortex. Intensive study has not revealed an intrinsic, anatomical organizing principle related to an AI functional topography. We used retrograde anatomic tracing and topographic physiologic mapping of acoustic response properties to reveal long-range (> or ...

The development of new axonal tract tracing and cell labelling methods has revolutionised neurobiology in the last 30 years. The aim of this review is to consider some of the key methods of neuroanatomical tracing that are currently in use and have proved invaluable in charting the complex interconnections of the central nervous system. The review begins with a short overview of the most freque...