Zhang Huijie, Li Lei, Zhang Xujie, Ru Guanqi, Zang Weidong
Department of Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450046, China.
Brain Sci. 2024 Sep 28;14(10):982. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14100982.
The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) has gained attention owing to its involvement in various physiological functions, such as sleep-awake, feeding, and emotion, with its analgesic role being particularly significant. It is described as the "pain inhibitory nucleus" in the brain. The DRN has diverse projections from hypothalamus, midbrain, and pons. In turn, the DRN is a major source of projections to diverse cortex, limbic forebrain thalamus, and the midbrain and contains highly heterogeneous neuronal subtypes. The activation of DRN neurons in mice prevents the establishment of neuropathic, chronic pain symptoms. Chemogenetic or optogenetic inhibition neurons in the DRN are sufficient to establish pain phenotypes, including long-lasting tactile allodynia, that scale with the extent of stimulation, thereby promoting nociplastic pain. Recent progress has been made in identifying the neural circuits and cellular mechanisms in the DRN that are responsible for sensory modulation. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive review addressing the specific neuron types in the DRN involved in pain modulation. This review summarizes the function of specific cell types within DRN in the pain regulation, and aims to improve understanding of the mechanisms underlying pain regulation in the DRN, ultimately offering insights for further exploration.
中缝背核（DRN）因其参与多种生理功能，如睡眠 - 觉醒、进食和情绪等，而受到关注，其镇痛作用尤为显著。它在大脑中被描述为“疼痛抑制核”。中缝背核接受来自下丘脑、中脑和脑桥的多种投射。反过来，中缝背核是向不同皮质、边缘前脑丘脑以及中脑投射的主要来源，并且包含高度异质性的神经元亚型。小鼠中缝背核神经元的激活可防止神经性慢性疼痛症状的形成。中缝背核中的化学遗传学或光遗传学抑制神经元足以建立疼痛表型，包括与刺激程度相关的持久触觉异常性疼痛，从而促进神经病理性疼痛。在确定中缝背核中负责感觉调制的神经回路和细胞机制方面最近取得了进展。然而，仍然缺乏针对中缝背核中参与疼痛调制的特定神经元类型的全面综述。本综述总结了中缝背核内特定细胞类型在疼痛调节中的功能，旨在增进对中缝背核疼痛调节潜在机制的理解，最终为进一步探索提供见解。
