Department of Neurobiology and the Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States. Dr. Hachisuka is now with the Spinal Cord Group, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Pain. 2020 Jan;161(1):185-194. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001710.
Spinal projection neurons are a major pathway through which somatic stimuli are conveyed to the brain. However, the manner in which this information is coded is poorly understood. Here, we report the identification of a modality-selective spinoparabrachial (SPB) neuron subtype with unique properties. Specifically, we find that cold-selective SPB neurons are differentiated by selective afferent input, reduced sensitivity to substance P, distinct physiological properties, small soma size, and low basal drive. In addition, optogenetic experiments reveal that cold-selective SPB neurons do not receive input from Nos1 inhibitory interneurons and, compared with other SPB neurons, show significantly smaller inhibitory postsynaptic currents upon activation of Pdyn inhibitory interneurons. Together, these data suggest that cold output from the spinal cord to the parabrachial nucleus is mediated by a specific cell type with distinct properties.
脊投射神经元是躯体刺激传递到大脑的主要途径。然而，这种信息的编码方式还知之甚少。在这里，我们报告了一种具有独特特性的模态选择性脊髓-臂旁核（SPB）神经元亚型的鉴定。具体来说，我们发现冷觉选择性 SPB 神经元通过选择性传入输入、对 P 物质的敏感性降低、独特的生理特性、较小的胞体大小和较低的基础驱动来区分。此外，光遗传学实验表明，冷觉选择性 SPB 神经元不接受 Nos1 抑制性中间神经元的输入，与其他 SPB 神经元相比，在激活 Pdyn 抑制性中间神经元时，其抑制性突触后电流明显较小。总之，这些数据表明，脊髓到臂旁核的冷觉输出是由具有独特特性的特定细胞类型介导的。
