He Wei, Shi Luo, Yue Ziteng, Zhao Ke, Wang Xiaoyi, Wang Kailin, Jing Xinyi, Bi Shangyu, Deng Tianjiao, Zhao Xue, Tian Xiaochen, Ma Xiangchen, Chen Yongqiang, Yuan Fang, Wang Sheng
Department of Neurobiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China.
Department of Neurobiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China; Hebei Key Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Shijiazhuang, China.
Cell Rep. 2025 Feb 25;44(2):115254. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115254. Epub 2025 Feb 1.
Sniffing is a specialized respiratory behavior that enables rodents to localize and track objects in their environment. The organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) is critically involved in the regulation of thirst and water intake, yet its role in controlling thirst-driven exploratory sniffing behaviors remains unclear. This study demonstrates that hypertonic stimulation significantly increases sniffing and activates OVLT glutamatergic (OVLT) neurons. Photostimulation of both OVLT neurons and their axon terminals within the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) induces robust sniffing. Furthermore, ablation of PVN neurons projecting to the preBötzinger complex not only reduces the sniffing time induced by photostimulation of OVLT neurons projecting to the PVN but also prolongs the drinking latency. These findings identify the OVLT-PVN-preBötzinger complex circuit as a pivotal regulator of thirst-driven sniffing, providing insights into the neural mechanisms underlying thirst and exploratory behavior.
嗅探是一种特殊的呼吸行为，使啮齿动物能够在其环境中定位和追踪物体。终板血管器（OVLT）在口渴和水摄入的调节中起着关键作用，但其在控制口渴驱动的探索性嗅探行为中的作用仍不清楚。本研究表明，高渗刺激显著增加嗅探并激活OVLT谷氨酸能（OVLT）神经元。对下丘脑室旁核（PVN）内的OVLT神经元及其轴突终末进行光刺激可诱发强烈的嗅探。此外，投射到前包钦格复合体的PVN神经元的消融不仅减少了由投射到PVN的OVLT神经元的光刺激所诱导的嗅探时间，而且延长了饮水潜伏期。这些发现确定了OVLT-PVN-前包钦格复合体回路是口渴驱动的嗅探的关键调节器，为口渴和探索行为的神经机制提供了见解。
