Current Status of and Perspectives on the Application of Marmosets in Neurobiology.

The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), a small New World primate, is receiving substantial attention in the neuroscience and biomedical science fields because its anatomical features, functional and behavioral characteristics, and reproductive features and its amenability to available genetic modification technologies make it an attractive experimental subject. In this review, I outline the progress of marmoset neuroscience research and summarize both the current status (opportunities and limitations) of and the future perspectives on the application of marmosets in neuroscience and disease modeling.

The olivary input to the cerebellum dissociates sensory events from movement plans.

Neurons in the inferior olive are thought to anatomically organize the Purkinje cells (P-cells) of the cerebellum into computational modules, but what is computed by each module? Here, we designed a saccade task in marmosets that dissociated sensory events from motor events and then recorded the complex and simple spikes of hundreds of P-cells. We found that when a visual target was presented at a random location, the olive reported the direction of that sensory event to one group of P-cells, but not to a second group. However, just before movement onset, it reported the direction of the planned movement to both groups, even if that movement was not toward the target. At the end of the movement if the subject experienced an error but chose to withhold the corrective movement, only the first group received information about the sensory prediction error. We organized the P-cells based on the information content of their olivary input and found that in the group that received sensory information, the simple spikes were suppressed during fixation, then produced a burst before saccade onset in a direction consistent with assisting the movement. In the second group, the simple spikes were not suppressed during fixation but burst near saccade deceleration in a direction consistent with stopping the movement. Thus, the olive differentiated the P-cells based on whether they would receive sensory or motor information, and this defined their contributions to control of movements as well as holding still.

Evolutionary and developmental specialization of foveal cell types in the marmoset.

In primates, high-acuity vision is mediated by the fovea, a small specialized central region of the retina. The fovea, unique to the anthropoid lineage among mammals, undergoes notable neuronal morphological changes during postnatal maturation. However, the extent of cellular similarity across anthropoid foveas and the molecular underpinnings of foveal maturation remain unclear. Here, we used high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing to profile retinal cells of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), an early divergent in anthropoid evolution from humans, apes, and macaques. We generated atlases of the marmoset fovea and peripheral retina for both neonates and adults. Our comparative analysis revealed that marmosets share almost all their foveal types with both humans and macaques, highlighting a conserved cellular structure among primate foveas. Furthermore, by tracing the developmental trajectory of cell types in the foveal and peripheral retina, we found distinct maturation paths for each. In-depth analysis of gene expression differences demonstrated that cone photoreceptors and Müller glia (MG), among others, show the greatest molecular divergence between these two regions. Utilizing single-cell ATAC-seq and gene-regulatory network inference, we uncovered distinct transcriptional regulations differentiating foveal cones from their peripheral counterparts. Further analysis of predicted ligand-receptor interactions suggested a potential role for MG in supporting the maturation of foveal cones. Together, these results provide valuable insights into foveal development, structure, and evolution.

Perceptual specializations for processing species-specific vocalizations in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

How humans and animals segregate sensory information into discrete, behaviorally meaningful categories is one of the hallmark questions in neuroscience. Much of the research around this topic in the auditory system has centered around human speech perception, in which categorical processes result in an enhanced sensitivity for acoustically meaningful differences and a reduced sensitivity for nonmeaningful distinctions. Much less is known about whether nonhuman primates process their species-specific vocalizations in a similar manner. We address this question in the common marmoset, a small arboreal New World primate with a rich vocal repertoire produced across a range of behavioral contexts. We first show that marmosets perceptually categorize their vocalizations in ways that correspond to previously defined call types for this species. Next, we show that marmosets are differentially sensitive to changes in particular acoustic features of their most common call types and that these sensitivity differences are matched to the population statistics of their vocalizations in ways that likely maximize category formation. Finally, we show that marmosets are less sensitive to changes in these acoustic features when within the natural range of variability of their calls, which possibly reflects perceptual specializations which maintain existing call categories. These findings suggest specializations for categorical vocal perception in a New World primate species and pave the way for future studies examining their underlying neural mechanisms.

Comparative connectomics reveals noncanonical wiring for color vision in human foveal retina.

The Old World macaque monkey and New World common marmoset provide fundamental models for human visual processing, yet the human ancestral lineage diverged from these monkey lineages over 25 Mya. We therefore asked whether fine-scale synaptic wiring in the nervous system is preserved across these three primate families, despite long periods of independent evolution. We applied connectomic electron microscopy to the specialized foveal retina where circuits for highest acuity and color vision reside. Synaptic motifs arising from the cone photoreceptor type sensitive to short (S) wavelengths and associated with "blue-yellow" (S-ON and S-OFF) color-coding circuitry were reconstructed. We found that distinctive circuitry arises from S cones for each of the three species. The S cones contacted neighboring L and M (long- and middle-wavelength sensitive) cones in humans, but such contacts were rare or absent in macaques and marmosets. We discovered a major S-OFF pathway in the human retina and established its absence in marmosets. Further, the S-ON and S-OFF chromatic pathways make excitatory-type synaptic contacts with L and M cone types in humans, but not in macaques or marmosets. Our results predict that early-stage chromatic signals are distinct in the human retina and imply that solving the human connectome at the nanoscale level of synaptic wiring will be critical for fully understanding the neural basis of human color vision.

Pre-saccadic Neural Enhancements in Marmoset Area MT.

Each time we make an eye movement, attention moves before the eyes, resulting in a perceptual enhancement at the target. Recent psychophysical studies suggest that this pre-saccadic attention enhances the visual features at the saccade target, whereas covert attention causes only spatially selective enhancements. While previous nonhuman primate studies have found that pre-saccadic attention does enhance neural responses spatially, no studies have tested whether changes in neural tuning reflect an automatic feature enhancement. Here we examined pre-saccadic attention using a saccade foraging task developed for marmoset monkeys (one male and one female). We recorded from neurons in the middle temporal area with peripheral receptive fields that contained a motion stimulus, which would either be the target of a saccade or a distracter as a saccade was made to another location. We established that marmosets, like macaques, show enhanced pre-saccadic neural responses for saccades toward the receptive field, including increases in firing rate and motion information. We then examined if the specific changes in neural tuning might support feature enhancements for the target. Neurons exhibited diverse changes in tuning but predominantly showed additive and multiplicative increases that were uniformly applied across motion directions. These findings confirm that marmoset monkeys, like macaques, exhibit pre-saccadic neural enhancements during saccade foraging tasks with minimal training requirements. However, at the level of individual neurons, the lack of feature-tuned enhancements is similar to neural effects reported during covert spatial attention.

Laminar Dynamics of Target Selection in the Posterior Parietal Cortex of the Common Marmoset.

The lateral intraparietal area (LIP) plays a crucial role in target selection and attention in primates, but the laminar microcircuitry of this region is largely unknown. To address this, we used ultra-high density laminar electrophysiology with Neuropixels probes to record neural activity in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) of two adult marmosets while they performed a simple visual target selection task. Our results reveal neural correlates of visual target selection in the marmoset, similar to those observed in macaques and humans, with distinct timing and profiles of activity across cell types and cortical layers. Notably, a greater proportion of neurons exhibited stimulus-related activity in superficial layers whereas a greater proportion of infragranular neurons exhibited significant postsaccadic activity. Stimulus-related activity was first observed in granular layer putative interneurons, whereas target discrimination activity emerged first in supragranular layers putative pyramidal neurons, supporting a canonical laminar circuit underlying visual target selection in marmoset PPC. These findings provide novel insights into the neural basis of visual attention and target selection in primates.

Direct interhemispheric cortical communication via thalamic commissures: a new white matter pathway in the primate brain.

Cortical neurons of eutherian mammals project to the contralateral hemisphere, crossing the midline primarily via the corpus callosum and the anterior, posterior, and hippocampal commissures. We recently reported and named the thalamic commissures (TCs) as an additional interhemispheric axonal fiber pathway connecting the cortex to the contralateral thalamus in the rodent brain. Here, we demonstrate that TCs also exist in primates and characterize the connectivity of these pathways with high-resolution diffusion-weighted MRI, viral axonal tracing, and fMRI. We present evidence of TCs in both New World (Callithrix jacchus and Cebus apella) and Old World primates (Macaca mulatta). Further, like rodents, we show that the TCs in primates develop during the embryonic period, forming anatomical and functionally active connections of the cortex with the contralateral thalamus. We also searched for TCs in the human brain, showing their presence in humans with brain malformations, although we could not identify TCs in healthy subjects. These results pose the TCs as a vital fiber pathway in the primate brain, allowing for more robust interhemispheric connectivity and synchrony and serving as an alternative commissural route in developmental brain malformations.

The Subcortical Atlas of the Marmoset ("SAM") monkey based on high-resolution MRI and histology.

A comprehensive three-dimensional digital brain atlas of cortical and subcortical regions based on MRI and histology has a broad array of applications in anatomical, functional, and clinical studies. We first generated a Subcortical Atlas of the Marmoset, called the "SAM," from 251 delineated subcortical regions (e.g. thalamic subregions, etc.) derived from high-resolution Mean Apparent Propagator-MRI, T2W, and magnetization transfer ratio images ex vivo. We then confirmed the location and borders of these segmented regions in the MRI data using matched histological sections with multiple stains obtained from the same specimen. Finally, we estimated and confirmed the atlas-based areal boundaries of subcortical regions by registering this ex vivo atlas template to in vivo T1- or T2W MRI datasets of different age groups (single vs. multisubject population-based marmoset control adults) using a novel pipeline developed within Analysis of Functional NeuroImages software. Tracing and validating these important deep brain structures in 3D will improve neurosurgical planning, anatomical tract tracer injections, navigation of deep brain stimulation probes, functional MRI and brain connectivity studies, and our understanding of brain structure-function relationships. This new ex vivo template and atlas are available as volumes in standard NIFTI and GIFTI file formats and are intended for use as a reference standard for marmoset brain research.

Similarity and characterization of structural and functional neural connections within species under isoflurane anesthesia in the common marmoset.

The common marmoset is an essential model for understanding social cognition and neurodegenerative diseases. This study explored the structural and functional brain connectivity in a marmoset under isoflurane anesthesia, aiming to statistically overcome the effects of high inter-individual variability and noise-related confounds such as physiological noise, ensuring robust and reliable data. Similarities and differences in individual subject data, including assessments of functional and structural brain connectivities derived from resting-state functional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging were meticulously captured. The findings highlighted the high consistency of structural neural connections within the species, indicating a stable neural architecture, while functional connectivity under anesthesia displayed considerable variability. Through independent component and dual regression analyses, several distinct brain connectivities were identified, elucidating their characteristics under anesthesia. Insights into the structural and functional features of the marmoset brain from this study affirm its value as a neuroscience research model, promising advancements in the field through fundamental and translational studies.

The 5-HT2A/2C inverse agonist nelotanserin alleviates L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in the MPTP-lesioned marmoset.

Nelotanserin is a serotonin 2A and 2C (5-HT2A/2C) inverse agonist that was previously tested in the clinic for rapid-eye movement sleep behaviour disorder and psychosis in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) dementia. Its effect on L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA)-induced dyskinesia has however not been investigated. As 5-HT2A antagonism/inverse agonism is a validated approach to alleviate dyskinesia, we undertook the current study to evaluate the anti-dyskinetic potential of nelotanserin in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-lesioned marmoset. Parkinsonism was induced in six common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus, three females and three males) that were then chronically treated with L-DOPA to induce dyskinesia. On experimental days, they were administered L-DOPA in combination with vehicle or nelotanserin (0.1, 0.3 and 1 mg/kg) subcutaneously, in a randomised fashion. Dyskinesia and parkinsonism were rated post hoc by a blinded observer. In comparison to vehicle, the addition of nelotanserin 0.3 and 1 mg/kg to L-DOPA diminished peak dose dyskinesia by 47% (P < 0.05) and 69% (P < 0.001). Nelotanserin 0.3 and 1 mg/kg also reduced the severity of global dyskinesia, by 40% (P < 0.01) and 55% (P < 0.001), when compared to vehicle. Nelotanserin 0.1 mg/kg did not alleviate peak dose or global dyskinesia severity. Nelotanserin had no impact on the anti-parkinsonian action of L-DOPA. Our results highlight that nelotanserin may represent an efficacious anti-dyskinetic drug and provide incremental evidence of the potential benefit of 5-HT2A/2C antagonism/inverse agonism for drug-induced dyskinesia in PD.

Effect of the mGlu2 positive allosteric modulator biphenyl-indanone A as a monotherapy and as adjunct to a low dose of L-DOPA in the MPTP-lesioned marmoset.

Activation of metabotropic glutamate 2 (mGlu2) receptors is a potential novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of parkinsonism. Thus, when administered as monotherapy or as adjunct to a low dose of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), the mGlu2 positive allosteric modulator (PAM) LY-487,379 alleviated parkinsonism in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-lesioned primates. Here, we sought to investigate the effect of biphenyl-indanone A (BINA), a highly selective mGlu2 PAM whose chemical scaffold is unrelated to LY-487,379, to determine if a structurally different mGlu2 PAM would also confer anti-parkinsonian benefit. In monotherapy experiments, MPTP-lesioned marmosets were injected with either vehicle, L-DOPA/benserazide (15/3.75 mg/kg, positive control) or BINA (0.1, 1, 10 mg/kg). In adjunct to a low L-DOPA dose experiments, MPTP-lesioned marmosets were injected with L-DOPA/benserazide (7.5/1.875 mg/kg) in combination with vehicle or BINA (0.1, 1, 10 mg/kg). Parkinsonism, dyskinesia and psychosis-like behaviours (PLBs) were then quantified. When administered alone, BINA 1 and 10 mg/kg decreased parkinsonism severity by ~22% (p < 0.01) and ~47% (p < 0.001), when compared with vehicle, which was comparable with the global effect of a high L-DOPA dose. When administered in combination with a low L-DOPA dose, BINA 1 and 10 mg/kg decreased global parkinsonism by ~38% (p < 0.001) and ~53% (p < 0.001). BINA 10 mg/kg decreased global dyskinesia by ~94% (p < 0.01) and global PLBs by ~92% (p < 0.01). Our results provide additional evidence that mGlu2 positive allosteric modulation elicits anti-parkinsonian effects. That this benefit is not related to a particular chemical scaffold suggests that it may be a class effect rather than the effect of a specific molecule.

Attempts for deriving extended pluripotent stem cells from common marmoset embryonic stem cells.

Extended pluripotent stem cells (EPSCs) derived from mice and humans showed an enhanced potential for chimeric formation. By exploiting transcriptomic approaches, we assessed the differences in gene expression profile between extended EPSCs derived from mice and humans, and those newly derived from the common marmoset (marmoset; Callithrix jacchus). Although the marmoset EPSC-like cells displayed a unique colony morphology distinct from murine and human EPSCs, they displayed a pluripotent state akin to embryonic stem cells (ESCs), as confirmed by gene expression and immunocytochemical analyses of pluripotency markers and three-germ-layer differentiation assay. Importantly, the marmoset EPSC-like cells showed interspecies chimeric contribution to mouse embryos, such as E6.5 blastocysts in vitro and E6.5 epiblasts in vivo in mouse development. Also, we discovered that the perturbation of gene expression of the marmoset EPSC-like cells from the original ESCs resembled that of human EPSCs. Taken together, our multiple analyses evaluated the efficacy of the method for the derivation of marmoset EPSCs.

Evolution of threat response-related polymorphisms at the SLC6A4 locus in callitrichid primates.

Variation in an upstream repetitive region at the SLC6A4 locus, which encodes the serotonin transporter, is associated with anxiety-related behaviour in a few primate species, including humans and rhesus macaques, and has been suggested to be related to ecological adaptability among macaques. In this study, we investigate evolution of SLC6A4 polymorphisms associated with anxiety-related behaviour in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Assaying variation in the SLC6A4 repeat region across 14 species in eight genera of callitrichid primates (marmosets and tamarins), we find large interspecific variation in the number of repeats present (24-43). The black tufted-ear marmoset (C. penicillata) has sequence polymorphisms similar to those found in the common marmoset, which is its sister species, and no other species has intraspecific variation at these sites. We conclude that, similar to humans and macaques, the functional polymorphism at SLC6A4 in common marmosets has a recent evolutionary origin, and that the anxiety-related allele is evolutionarily derived. Common/black tufted-ear marmosets and rhesus/bonnet macaques share high ecological adaptability and behavioural flexibility that we propose may be related to the maintenance of the polymorphism.

Hydrotherapy in two black-tufted marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) with metabolic bone disease-Case reports (2018-2020).

Integrative medicine has gained space in veterinary medicine and hydrotherapy is mainly used as an adjunct on the treatment of neurological and musculoskeletal diseases. Use of this therapeutic modality in wild animals has seldom been reported. This article describes the use of hydrotherapy in two Callithrix penicillata patients with metabolic bone disease.

Nerve sheath tumor in the forearm of a common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

Tumors of the skin and subcutaneous tissues are uncommon in marmosets. In this report, we describe the gross, histopathology, and immunohistochemical findings of a nerve sheath tumor that arose in the left forearm of an adult female marmoset (Callthrix jacchus).

Effect of sedatives or anesthetics on the measurement of resting brain function in common marmosets.

Common marmosets are promising laboratory animals for the study of higher brain functions. Although there are many opportunities to use sedatives and anesthetics in resting brain function measurements in marmosets, their effects on the resting-state network remain unclear. In this study, the effects of sedatives or anesthetics such as midazolam, dexmedetomidine, co-administration of isoflurane and dexmedetomidine, propofol, alfaxalone, isoflurane, and sevoflurane on the resting brain function in common marmosets were evaluated using independent component analysis, dual regression analysis, and graph-theoretic analysis; and the sedatives or anesthetics suitable for the evaluation of resting brain function were investigated. The results show that network preservation tendency under light sedative with midazolam and dexmedetomidine is similar regardless of the type of target receptor. Moreover, alfaxalone, isoflurane, and sevoflurane have similar effects on resting state brain function, but only propofol exhibits different tendencies, as resting brain function is more preserved than it is following the administration of the other anesthetics. Co-administration of isoflurane and dexmedetomidine shows middle effect between sedatives and anesthetics.

Temporal fingerprints of cortical gyrification in marmosets and humans.

Recent neuroimaging studies in humans have reported distinct temporal dynamics of gyri and sulci, which may be associated with putative functions of cortical gyrification. However, the complex folding patterns of the human cortex make it difficult to explain temporal patterns of gyrification. In this study, we used the common marmoset as a simplified model to examine the temporal characteristics and compare them with the complex gyrification of humans. Using a brain-inspired deep neural network, we obtained reliable temporal-frequency fingerprints of gyri and sulci from the awake rs-fMRI data of marmosets and humans. Notably, the temporal fingerprints of one region successfully classified the gyrus/sulcus of another region in both marmosets and humans. Additionally, the temporal-frequency fingerprints were remarkably similar in both species. We then analyzed the resulting fingerprints in several domains and adopted the Wavelet Transform Coherence approach to characterize the gyro-sulcal coupling patterns. In both humans and marmosets, sulci exhibited higher frequency bands than gyri, and the two were temporally coupled within the same range of phase angles. This study supports the notion that gyri and sulci possess unique and evolutionarily conserved features that are consistent across functional areas, and advances our understanding of the functional role of cortical gyrification.

Selective corticofugal modulation on sound processing in auditory thalamus of awake marmosets.

Cortical feedback has long been considered crucial for the modulation of sensory perception and recognition. However, previous studies have shown varying modulatory effects of the primary auditory cortex (A1) on the auditory response of subcortical neurons, which complicate interpretations regarding the function of A1 in sound perception and recognition. This has been further complicated by studies conducted under different brain states. In the current study, we used cryo-inactivation in A1 to examine the role of corticothalamic feedback on medial geniculate body (MGB) neurons in awake marmosets. The primary effects of A1 inactivation were a frequency-specific decrease in the auditory response of most MGB neurons coupled with an increased spontaneous firing rate, which together resulted in a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, we report for the first time that A1 robustly modulated the long-lasting sustained response of MGB neurons, which changed the frequency tuning after A1 inactivation, e.g. some neurons are sharper with corticofugal feedback and some get broader. Taken together, our results demonstrate that corticothalamic modulation in awake marmosets serves to enhance sensory processing in a manner similar to center-surround models proposed in visual and somatosensory systems, a finding which supports common principles of corticothalamic processing across sensory systems.

Gastric emphysema and pneumatosis intestinalis in two common marmosets with duodenal dilation syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) are widely used as primate experimental models in biomedical research. Duodenal dilation with chronic vomiting in captive common marmosets is a recently described life-threatening syndrome that is problematic for health control. However, the pathogenesis and cause of death are not fully understood. CASE PRESENTATION: We report two novel necropsy cases in which captive common marmosets were histopathologically diagnosed with gastric emphysema (GE) and pneumatosis intestinalis (PI). Marmoset duodenal dilation syndrome was confirmed in each case by clinical observation of chronic vomiting and by gross necropsy findings showing a dilated, gas-filled and fluid-filled descending duodenum that adhered to the ascending colon. A diagnosis of GE and PI was made on the basis of the bubble-like morphology of the gastric and intestinal mucosa, with histological examination revealing numerous vacuoles diffused throughout the lamina propria mucosae and submucosa. Immunostaining for prospero homeobox 1 and CD31 distinguished gas cysts from blood and lymph vessels. The presence of hepatic portal venous gas in case 1 and possible secondary bacteremia-related septic shock in case 2 were suggested to be acute life-threatening abdominal processes resulting from gastric emphysema and pneumatosis intestinalis. CONCLUSIONS: In both cases, the gross and histopathological findings of gas cysts in the GI tract walls matched the features of human GE and PI. These findings contribute to clarifying the cause of death in captive marmosets that have died of gastrointestinal diseases.