Henrik Boije – Zebrafish neuronal networks
One of the great unanswered questions of our time is how 100 billion cells can create the network that is the foundation for our conscience. An increased knowledge about how the nervous system is formed and functions will also increase our understanding of how diseases and trauma affect cognition, locomotion and memory. Because of the complexity of the brain, a successful approach has been to study small, well-defined, neural circuits which can provide insights into how the nervous system functions as a whole.
The spinal locomotor network operates as an autonomous metronome that creates a rhythmic output via motor neurons to the muscles. The metronome itself consists of populations of interneurons, i.e. nerve cells that communication with other nerve cells.
Nerve cells that affect animal locomotion
Recently, a population of interneurons that are essential for coordinating locomotion in the horse and mouse has been identified. Our research focuses on increasing the understanding of how these cells affect an animal’s motion pattern. One hypothesis is that interneurons function as a gear box that allows the animal to switch between different speeds or gaits by adjusting and stabilizing the frequency of the motor neurons. To find out if this is correct, knowledge is needed about how this cell population is formed, how the cells are integrated in the network, and how they signal during locomotion and what effect this has.
Zebrafish as model organism
Zebrafish is an ideal model organism for finding the answers to these questions. The use of powerful genetic tools, in combination with that the fish have transparent fry, allows us to image and manipulate nerve cells in intact animals. We use time-lapse imaging of fluorescent reporter lines to reveal how cells are generated and integrated within the locomotor circuitry. Genetically encoded calcium-indicators provide a direct link between signalling at a cellular level and functional output in the form of swimming behaviour.
By combining investigations at the cellular level with behaviour studies we collect unique knowledge about how the nervous system functions. We hope that our results will increase the understanding of how the nervous system is formed, which is required to better understand how breakdown of networks relate to neural injuries and diseases.
See a the film from Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research about Henrik Boije's research: "Zebrafish help scientists understand the nervous system".

A genetically engineered spinal cord (photo: Silvia Vicenzi)
Group members
Publications
Novel Transgenic Zebrafish Lines to Study the CHRNA3-B4-A5 Gene Cluster
Part of Developmental Neurobiology, 2025
- DOI for Novel Transgenic Zebrafish Lines to Study the CHRNA3-B4-A5 Gene Cluster
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Part of Developmental Biology, p. 77-87, 2024
- DOI for Perturbed development of calb2b expressing dI6 interneurons and motor neurons underlies locomotor defects observed in calretinin knock-down zebrafish larvae
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Efferent axons in the zebrafish lateral line degenerate following sensory hair cell ablation
Part of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, 2023
- DOI for Efferent axons in the zebrafish lateral line degenerate following sensory hair cell ablation
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Part of Genetics Selection Evolution, 2023
- DOI for The genetics of gaits in Icelandic horses goes beyond DMRT3, with RELN and STAU2 identified as two new candidate genes
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Part of BIOLOGY OPEN, 2022
- DOI for A deep-dive into fictive locomotion - a strategy to probe cellular activity during speed transitions in fictively swimming zebrafish larvae
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Part of Gene Expression Patterns, 2022
- DOI for A new transgenic reporter line reveals expression of protocadherin 9 at a cellular level within the zebrafish central nervous system
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Part of PLOS ONE, 2022
- DOI for Characterization of locomotor phenotypes in zebrafish larvae requires testing under both light and dark conditions
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Part of eNeuro, 2022
- DOI for Hop Mice Display Synchronous Hindlimb Locomotion and a Ventrally Fused Lumbar Spinal Cord Caused by a Point Mutation in Ttc26
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Part of Frontiers in Neuroanatomy, 2021
- DOI for Characterization of Individual Projections Reveal That Neuromasts of the Zebrafish Lateral Line are Innervated by Multiple Inhibitory Efferent Cells
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Part of Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2021
- DOI for Single cell transcriptomic analysis of spinal Dmrt3 neurons in zebrafish and mouse identifies distinct subtypes and reveal novel subpopulations within the dI6 domain
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Part of eNeuro, 2020
- DOI for Behavioral Characterization of dmrt3a Mutant Zebrafish Reveals Crucial Aspects of Vertebrate Locomotion through Phenotypes Related to Acceleration
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zOPT: an open source optical projection tomography system and methods for rapid 3D zebrafish imaging
Part of Biomedical Optics Express, p. 4290-4305, 2020
- DOI for zOPT: an open source optical projection tomography system and methods for rapid 3D zebrafish imaging
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Part of European Journal of Neuroscience, p. 3597-3605, 2018
- DOI for Deterministic fate assignment of Müller glia cells in the zebrafish retina suggest a clonal backbone during development
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Origin and circuitry of spinal locomotor interneurons generating different speeds.
Part of Current Opinion in Neurobiology, p. 16-21, 2018
Heterogeneity in retinoblastoma: a tale of molecules and models
Part of CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, 2017
- DOI for Heterogeneity in retinoblastoma: a tale of molecules and models
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Horizontal Cells, the Odd Ones Out in the Retina, Give Insights into Development and Disease
Part of Frontiers in Neuroanatomy, 2016
- DOI for Horizontal Cells, the Odd Ones Out in the Retina, Give Insights into Development and Disease
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Part of Developmental Cell, p. 532-543, 2015
- DOI for The Independent Probabilistic Firing of Transcription Factors: A Paradigm for Clonal Variability in the Zebrafish Retina
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Reconciling competence and transcriptional hierarchies with stochasticity in retinal lineages.
Part of Current Opinion in Neurobiology, p. 68-74, 2014
- DOI for Reconciling competence and transcriptional hierarchies with stochasticity in retinal lineages.
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Part of Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, p. 615-628, 2013
Part of Differentiation, p. 11-19, 2013
Part of PLOS ONE, 2013
- DOI for Heterogenic Final Cell Cycle by Chicken Retinal Lim1 Horizontal Progenitor Cells Leads to Heteroploid Cells with a Remaining Replicated Genome
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Part of PLOS ONE, 2012
- DOI for Sonic Hedgehog-Signalling Patterns the Developing Chicken Comb as Revealed by Exploration of the Pea-comb Mutation
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Part of PLOS Genetics, 2012
- DOI for The Rose-comb Mutation in Chickens Constitutes a Structural Rearrangement Causing Both Altered Comb Morphology and Defective Sperm Motility
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Part of Visual Neuroscience, p. 149-157, 2010
Pax2 Is Expressed in a Subpopulation of Muller Cells in the Central Chick Retina
Part of Developmental Dynamics, p. 1858-1866, 2010
Copy number variation in intron 1 of SOX5 causes the Pea-comb phenotype in chickens
Part of PLoS Genetics, 2009
Part of Developmental Biology, p. 105-113, 2009
Part of BMC Developmental Biology, p. 46, 2008
Part of Gene Expression Patterns, p. 117-123, 2008