Evolution of central neural circuits: state of the art and perspectives

The wide variety of animal behaviours that can be observed today arose through the evolution of their underlying neural circuits. Advances in understanding the mechanisms through which neural circuits change over evolutionary timescales have lagged behind our knowledge of circuit function and develo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature reviews. Neuroscience 2022-12, Vol.23 (12), p.725-743
Main Authors: Roberts, Ruairí J. V., Pop, Sinziana, Prieto-Godino, Lucia L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/181
631/378/3920
Animal Genetics and Genomics
Behavioral Sciences
Biological Techniques
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Circuits
Developmental biology
Evolution
Nervous system
Neural networks
Neurobiology
Neuromodulation
Neurosciences
Review Article
Transcriptomics
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Summary:The wide variety of animal behaviours that can be observed today arose through the evolution of their underlying neural circuits. Advances in understanding the mechanisms through which neural circuits change over evolutionary timescales have lagged behind our knowledge of circuit function and development. This is particularly true for central neural circuits, which are experimentally less accessible than peripheral circuit elements. However, recent technological developments — including cross-species genetic modifications, connectomics and transcriptomics — have facilitated comparative neuroscience studies with a mechanistic outlook. These advances enable knowledge from two classically separate disciplines — neuroscience and evolutionary biology — to merge, accelerating our understanding of the principles of neural circuit evolution. Here we synthesize progress on this topic, focusing on three aspects of neural circuits that change over evolutionary time: synaptic connectivity, neuromodulation and neurons. By drawing examples from a wide variety of animal phyla, we reveal emerging principles of neural circuit evolution. Understanding how brain circuits have been altered by evolution can provide insight into their development and function. Prieto-Godino and colleagues provide an overview of our current understanding of the principles of central circuit evolution, drawing on numerous examples from across the animal kingdom.
ISSN:1471-003X
1471-0048
1469-3178
DOI:10.1038/s41583-022-00644-y