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Multidisciplinary Sciences
Siew Cheng Phua, Yu Lin Tan, Alison Maun Yeng Kok, Esra Senol, Christine Jin Hui Chiam, Chun-Yao Lee, Yanmin Peng, Auriel Theodora Jacobea Lim, Hasan Mohammad, Jing-Xuan Lim, Yu Fu
Summary: The study revealed that specific neurons in the parabrachial nucleus of mice can suppress motivation to eat through a particular neural pathway, impacting appetite and food reward behavior.
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Biology
Fan Wang, Yuge Chen, Yuxin Lin, Xuze Wang, Kaiyuan Li, Yong Han, Jintao Wu, Xingyi Shi, Zhenggang Zhu, Chaoying Long, Xiaojun Hu, Shumin Duan, Zhihua Gao
Summary: The CCK-expressing neurons in the LPBCCK directly project to the PVN and play a role in controlling defensive behaviors. Activation of LPBCCK neurons promotes aversion and defensive behaviors, while inhibition of LPBCCK neurons attenuates flight responses. Optogenetic experiments reveal that LPBCCK neurons control defensive behaviors by projecting axon terminals to the PVN.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Veerle Visser-Vandewalle, Pablo Andrade, Philip E. Mosley, Benjamin D. Greenberg, Rick Schuurman, Nicole C. McLaughlin, Valerie Voon, Paul Krack, Kelly D. Foote, Helen S. Mayberg, Martijn Figee, Brian H. Kopell, Mircea Polosan, Eileen M. Joyce, Stephan Chabardes, Keith Matthews, Juan C. Baldermann, Himanshu Tyagi, Paul E. Holtzheimer, Chris Bervoets, Clement Hamani, Carine Karachi, Damiaan Denys, Ludvic Zrinzo, Patric Blomstedt, Matilda Naesstrom, Aviva Abosch, Steven Rasmussen, Volker A. Coenen, Thomas E. Schlaepfer, Darin D. Dougherty, Philippe Domenech, Peter Silburn, James Giordano, Andres M. Lozano, Sameer A. Sheth, Terry Coyne, Jens Kuhn, Luc Mallet, Bart Nuttin, Marwan Hariz, Michael S. Okun
Summary: Deep brain stimulation is an effective but underutilized treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and insurers should take action to make this therapy accessible to patients with otherwise intractable cases, in order to improve their mental health.
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Anesthesiology
Di Wang, Qingchen Guo, Yu Zhou, Zheng Xu, Su-Wan Hu, Xiang-Xi Kong, Yu-Mei Yu, Jun-Xia Yang, Hongxing Zhang, Hai-Lei Ding, Jun-Li Cao
Summary: The study found that GABAergic neurons in the lateral septum play a crucial role in maintaining wakefulness and promoting emergence from anesthesia. Stimulation of these neurons led to increased wakefulness and accelerated recovery from anesthesia. Additionally, these GABAergic neurons inhibit the activity of ventral tegmental area GABAergic neurons, regulating wakefulness and depth of anesthesia.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eric Lowet, Krishnakanth Kondabolu, Samuel Zhou, Rebecca A. Mount, Yangyang Wang, Cara R. Ravasio, Xue Han
Summary: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) causes membrane depolarization of neurons, interfering with their response to inputs. The effects of DBS vary with different stimulation frequencies, as evidenced by high-speed membrane voltage imaging.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Takaki Yahiro, Naoya Kataoka, Kazuhiro Nakamura
Summary: This study investigated the roles of ascending thermosensory pathways from the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPB) in avoidance behavior from innocuous heat and cold in male rats. The results showed that LPB-MnPO neurons mediate heat avoidance, while LPB-CeA neurons contribute to cold avoidance. Furthermore, skin cooling-induced thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue requires both LPB-MnPO and LPB-CeA neurons.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Su Bin An, Yi Sul Cho, Sook Kyung Park, Yun Sook Kim, Yong Chul Bae
Summary: Recent studies have found a direct projection of nociceptive trigeminal afferents into the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBN). These afferents form synapses with dendritic shafts and spines in the LPBN, primarily transmitting orofacial nociceptive information to a single postsynaptic neuron. The synaptic connectivity of the TRPV1+ boutons in the LPBN differs significantly from that in the trigeminal caudal nucleus (Vc), indicating a distinct relay of orofacial nociception to the LPBN.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Alessandro Furlane, Alberto Corona, Sara Boyle, Radhashree Sharma, Rachel Rubino, Jill Habel, Eva Carlotta Gablenze, Jacqueline Giovanniello, Semir Beyaz, Tobias Janowitze, Stephen David Shea, Bo Li
Summary: Obesity is a global pandemic that is associated with many life-threatening diseases. Research shows that neurotensin-expressing neurons in mice play a role in encoding dietary preference for high-energy foods. Activating these neurons promotes obesogenic behaviors, while inhibiting them reduces feeding and hedonic eating. Long-term inactivation leads to weight loss, improved metabolic health, and protection against obesity.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
B. Kalyanasundar, Ginger D. Blonde, Alan C. Spector, Susan P. Travers
Summary: Recent findings show that the rostral nucleus of the solitary tract (rNST) and the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) in mice retain responsiveness to sugars even in the absence of specific taste receptor heterodimers. In PBN, the responses to concentrated glucose were more evident, and a CA-dependent mechanism in Type III taste bud cells may be involved in T1R-independent hyperosmotic sugar detection.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lin Wu, Yujie Wu, Jin Liu, Jingyao Jiang, Cheng Zhou, Donghang Zhang
Summary: The elevated excitability of glutamatergic neurons in the lateral parabrachial nucleus (PBL) is found to be associated with the development of inflammatory pain. In this study, chemogenetic manipulation was used to explore the relationship between PBL glutamatergic neuron activity and pain thresholds. The results demonstrate that activation of PBL glutamatergic neurons decreases pain thresholds, while inhibition produces the opposite effect. The increased expression of C-Fos protein and NALCN in PBL glutamatergic neurons is also observed in the model of inflammatory pain.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Connor M. Aitken, Janine C. M. Jaramillo, Warren Davis, Liam Brennan-Xie, Stuart J. Mcdougall, Andrew J. Lawrence, Philip J. Ryan
Summary: Chemogenetic activation of oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons in the parabrachial nucleus acts as a satiation signal for water intake. This research investigates the effect of activating these neurons on satiation for different types of fluids. The results show that activation of these neurons predominantly controls initial fluid-satiation responses after rehydration, but not longer-term intake of highly caloric, palatable solutions.
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Jinrong Li, Md Sams Sazzad Ali, Christian H. Lemon
Summary: This study demonstrates communication between TRPV1-lineage fibers and taste neurons, supporting dependencies between gustatory and somatosensory hedonic representations.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qiuping Tong, Xiao Cui, Hao Xu, Xiaoshuang Zhang, Songhui Hu, Fang Huang, Lei Xiao
Summary: Dopamine plays a key role in regulating emotion, and the dysfunction of dopamine signal has been linked to psychiatric disorders such as anxiety. The Ventral tegmental area (VTA) is an important region with dopamine-producing neurons. This study demonstrates that activation/inhibition of D1 receptors in the VTA can alleviate/aggravate anxiety-like behaviors in mice, and knocking down D1 receptor expression in the VTA also has an anxiogenic effect. The functional expression of D1 receptors in VTA neurons was confirmed using fluorescence in situ hybridization and electrophysiological recording.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Anesthesiology
Jia-Ni Li, Jia-Hao Ren, Cheng-Bo He, Wen-Jun Zhao, Hui Li, Yu-Lin Dong, Yun-Qing Li
Summary: The study shows the crucial role of interactions between LPB and l/vlPAG in itch and pain sensation processing. Activation of the LPB-l/vlPAG pathway leads to antipruritic and analgesic effects, while inhibition enhances nociceptive perception. This suggests a potential therapeutic target for modulating itch and pain sensations through this pathway.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Li Shen, Guang-Wei Zhang, Can Tao, Michelle B. Seo, Nicole K. Zhang, Junxiang J. Huang, Li I. Zhang, Huizhong W. Tao
Summary: Valence detection and processing in animals are crucial for survival in complex environments. The study shows that somatostatin neurons in the medial septum play a critical role in encoding reward signals and positive valence, contributing significantly to appetitive behaviors and associative learning. This neural pathway provides insights into how rewarding taste signals are transformed and how reward-cue associative learning is mediated in the brain.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)