Genetic Approaches for Neural Circuits Dissection in Non-human Primates

 Ling Li1,3 · Zhen Liu1,2,3
1 Institute of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, CAS Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China 
2 Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai 200031, China 
3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Abstract
Genetic tools, which can be used for the morphology study of specific neurons, pathway-selective connectome mapping, neuronal activity monitoring, and manipulation with a spatiotemporal resolution, have been widely applied to the understanding of complex neural circuit formation, interactions, and functions in rodents. Recently, similar genetic approaches have been tried in non-human primates (NHPs) in neuroscience studies for dissecting the neural circuits involved in sophisticated behaviors and clinical brain disorders, although they are still very preliminary. In this review, we introduce the progress made in the development and application of genetic tools for brain studies on NHPs. We also discuss the advantages and limitations of each approach and provide a perspective for using genetic tools to study the neural circuits of NHPs.

Keywords
Genetic tool; Neural circuit; Non-human primate