Transgenic Mice: Cre-Lines and Optogenetics

This lecture introduces the concept of transgenic mice using Cre-lines, where an endogenous regulatory sequence controls the expression of an effector protein. It also covers optogenetics, a technique involving microbial opsins like ChR2 for neural cell manipulation. The lecture discusses the Allen Brain Atlas, detailing transgene expression in different brain regions. It further explores techniques like single-cell RNA sequencing and whole-neuron synaptic mapping, providing insights into neural circuitry and gene expression patterns.