A direct spino-cortical circuit bypassing the thalamus modulates nociception  

作　　者：Bing Cai Dan Wu Hong Xie Yan Chen Huadong Wang Sen Jin Yuran Song Anan Li Shiqi Huang Sashuang Wang Yingjin Lu Lan Bao Fuqiang Xu Hui Gong Changlin Li Xu Zhang 

机构地区：[1]Guangdong Institute of Intelligence Science and Technology,Hengqin,Zhuhai,Guangdong,China [2]SIMR Joint Lab of Drug Innovation,Shanghai Advanced Research Institute,Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS),Xuhui Central Hospital,Shanghai,China [3]Research Unit of Pain Medicine,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences,Hengqin,Zhuhai,Guangdong,China [4]Institute of Neuroscience and State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience,Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology,CAS,Shanghai,China [5]Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Viral Vectors for Biomedicine,Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute,Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology,CAS,Shenzhen,Guangdong,China [6]HUST-Suzhou Institute for Brainsmatics,JITRI Institute for Brainsmatics,Suzhou,Jiangsu,China [7]School of Life Science and Technology,ShanghaiTech University,Shanghai,China [8]Department of Pain Medicine and Shenzhen Municipal Key Laboratory for Pain Medicine,Shenzhen Nanshan People’s Hospital,Shenzhen,Guangdong,China [9]State Key Laboratory of Cell Biology,Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology,Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science,CAS,Shanghai,China [10]Institute of Photonic Chips,School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering,University of Shanghai for Science and Technology,Shanghai,China

出　　处：《Cell Research》2023年第10期775-789,共15页细胞研究（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32030050 and 32192413);Guangdong High Level Innovation Research Institute(2021B0909050004);CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences(2019-I2M-5-082),and Shenzhen Sanming Project.

摘　　要：Nociceptive signals are usually transmitted to layer 4 neurons in somatosensory cortex via the spinothalamic-thalamocortical pathway.The layer 5 corticospinal neurons in sensorimotor cortex are reported to receive the output of neurons in superficial layers;and their descending axons innervate the spinal cord to regulate basic sensorimotor functions.Here,we show that a subset of layer 5 neurons receives spinal inputs through a direct spino-cortical circuit bypassing the thalamus,and thus define these neurons as spino-cortical recipient neurons(SCRNs).Morphological studies revealed that the branches from spinal ascending axons formed a kind of disciform structure with the descending axons from SCRNs in the basilar pontine nucleus(BPN).Electron microscopy and calcium imaging further confirmed that the axon terminals from spinal ascending neurons and SCRNs made functional synaptic contacts in the BPN,linking the ascending sensory pathway to the descending motor control pathway.Furthermore,behavioral tests indicated that the spino-cortical connection in the BPN was involved in nociceptive responses.In vivo calcium imaging showed that SCRNs responded to peripheral noxious stimuli faster than neighboring layer 4 cortical neurons in awake mice.Manipulating activities of SCRNs could modulate nociceptive behaviors.Therefore,this direct spino-cortical circuit represents a noncanonical pathway,allowing a fast sensory-motor transition of the brain in response to noxious stimuli.

关 键 词：BYPASS CORTEX MORPHOLOGICAL 

分 类 号：R33[医药卫生—人体生理学]