Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
Department of Human Anatomy, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Nat Commun. 2023 May 3;14(1):2539. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38264-4.
Itch is an annoying sensation consisting of both sensory and emotional components. It is known to involve the parabrachial nucleus (PBN), but the following transmission nodes remain elusive. The present study identified that the PBN-central medial thalamic nucleus (CM)-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) pathway is essential for itch signal transmission at the supraspinal level in male mice. Chemogenetic inhibition of the CM-mPFC pathway attenuates scratching behavior or chronic itch-related affective responses. CM input to mPFC pyramidal neurons is enhanced in acute and chronic itch models. Specifically chronic itch stimuli also alter mPFC interneuron involvement, resulting in enhanced feedforward inhibition and a distorted excitatory/inhibitory balance in mPFC pyramidal neurons. The present work underscores CM as a transmit node of the itch signal in the thalamus, which is dynamically engaged in both the sensory and affective dimensions of itch with different stimulus salience.
痒觉是一种烦人的感觉,由感觉和情绪成分组成。已知它涉及臂旁核(PBN),但以下的传递节点仍然难以捉摸。本研究确定,PBN-中央中脑核(CM)-内侧前额叶皮层(mPFC)通路是雄性小鼠在脊髓以上水平传递痒觉信号所必需的。化学遗传抑制 CM-mPFC 通路可减轻搔抓行为或慢性痒相关的情感反应。在急性和慢性痒模型中,CM 对 mPFC 锥体神经元的输入增强。具体来说,慢性痒刺激还改变了 mPFC 中间神经元的参与,导致 mPFC 锥体神经元中的前馈抑制增强和兴奋性/抑制性平衡扭曲。本工作强调了 CM 作为丘脑痒觉信号的传递节点,它在不同刺激显著性的痒觉感觉和情感维度中动态参与。
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