Topic: Drd1a-Cre+ neurons

In the murine sensorimotor cortex, Drd1a-Cre+ neurons in layer 6b project to higher-order thalamic nuclei and are the only cortical projection neurons responsive to the wake-promoting neuropeptide orexin, suggesting that L6-Drd1a neurons play an important role in sensory processing, brain state modulation, attention, and cognition (Hoerder-Suabedissen et al., 2018; Zolnik et al., 2023). In the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), whether these neurons play an analogous role in gating cortical arousal remains poorly understood. Thus, we investigated the effects of ‘silencing’ L6-Drd1a neurons in a

Subplate neurons are among the earliest generated neurons in the cerebral cortex that orchestrate the development of the intra and extracortical connections. A large proportion of these neurons undergoes cell death throughout postnatal development. The remaining cells form the thin and compact cortical layer 6b (L6b) in murine cortex. The functional aspects of L6b have received little attention compared to the other layers. Recent studies have argued that the extensive intracortical connections and cortico-thalamic-cortical loops of L6b neurons might enable sensory processing to extract salien