Ma Ming-Feng, Hu Jie, Hao Ya-Xin, Zhang Kai-Ying, Zhang Xiang, Zhu Meng-Chu, Zhou Zong-Lei, Yuan Xiang-Shan, Yuan Fang
Department of Neurobiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Department of Anatomy and Histoembryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
CNS Neurosci Ther. 2025 Jun;31(6):e70459. doi: 10.1111/cns.70459.
The globus pallidus externa (GPe) is involved in mediating physiological functions and contains two types of neurons: Forkhead box protein P2-expressing (GPe) neurons which inhibit motor, and parvalbumin-expressing (GPe) neurons which improve motor. The functional complexity of the GPe, directly linked to its neuronal heterogeneity, necessitates exploring the neuroanatomical circuits of its distinct neuron types as a foundation for functional research.
In this study, we employed specific, modified rabies viruses and adeno-associated viruses to investigate the monosynaptic inputs of GPe and GPe neurons.
We found that the input projections to both types of neurons are widespread, including the cortex, subcortical structures, amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus, and brainstem. These inputs exhibit significant similarity, with 49 nuclei simultaneously innervating both types of neurons. However, GPe neurons receive a lower proportion of inputs from the cortex and a higher proportion of inputs from the thalamus, compared to GPe neurons. Clustering analysis indicates that GPe neurons receive extensive afferent inputs from four nuclear clusters in the brain, whereas GPe neurons receive afferent inputs from only three clusters, suggesting GPe neurons may be involved in more diverse functional regulations than GPe.
Collectively, our results reveal the similarities and differences in the input projections to the two types of neurons in the GPe and lay the neuroanatomic groundwork for further studies to explore the critical physiological functions of GPe.
苍白球外侧部（GPe）参与介导生理功能，包含两种类型的神经元：表达叉头框蛋白P2的（GPe）神经元，其抑制运动；以及表达小白蛋白的（GPe）神经元，其改善运动。GPe的功能复杂性与其神经元异质性直接相关，这就需要探索其不同神经元类型的神经解剖回路，作为功能研究的基础。
在本研究中，我们使用了特异性的、经过修饰的狂犬病病毒和腺相关病毒来研究GPe和GPe神经元的单突触输入。
我们发现，这两种类型神经元的输入投射广泛，包括皮层、皮层下结构、杏仁核、丘脑、下丘脑和脑干。这些输入表现出显著的相似性，有49个核团同时支配这两种类型的神经元。然而，与GPe神经元相比，GPe神经元从皮层接收的输入比例较低，而从丘脑接收的输入比例较高。聚类分析表明，GPe神经元从大脑中的四个核团簇接收广泛的传入输入，而GPe神经元仅从三个核团簇接收传入输入，这表明GPe神经元可能比GPe参与更多样化的功能调节。
总体而言，我们的结果揭示了GPe中两种类型神经元输入投射的异同，并为进一步研究探索GPe的关键生理功能奠定了神经解剖学基础。
