Departments of Biochemistry and Genome Sciences, Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Trends Neurosci. 2024 Sep;47(9):722-735. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2024.07.002. Epub 2024 Aug 14.
The parabrachial nucleus (PBN) in the dorsal pons responds to bodily threats and transmits alarm signals to the forebrain. Parabrachial neuron activity is enhanced during chronic pain, and inactivation of PBN neurons in mice prevents the establishment of neuropathic, chronic pain symptoms. Chemogenetic or optogenetic activation of all glutamatergic neurons in the PBN, or just the subpopulation that expresses the Calca gene, is sufficient to establish pain phenotypes, including long-lasting tactile allodynia, that scale with the extent of stimulation, thereby promoting nociplastic pain, defined as diffuse pain without tissue inflammation or nerve injury. This review focuses on the role(s) of molecularly defined PBN neurons and the downstream nodes in the brain that contribute to establishing nociplastic pain.
脑桥背侧的臂旁核（PBN）对躯体威胁做出反应，并将警报信号传递到前脑。在慢性疼痛期间，臂旁核神经元的活动增强，而在小鼠中灭活 PBN 神经元可防止神经性、慢性疼痛症状的建立。化学遗传或光遗传激活 PBN 中的所有谷氨酸能神经元，或仅激活表达 Calca 基因的亚群，足以建立疼痛表型，包括持久的触觉过敏，其与刺激的程度成比例，从而促进神经病理性疼痛，定义为没有组织炎症或神经损伤的弥漫性疼痛。这篇综述重点介绍了分子定义的 PBN 神经元及其在大脑中的下游节点在建立神经病理性疼痛中的作用。
