Article
Biology
Colin M. Cleary, Brenda M. Milla, Fu-Shan Kuo, Shaun James, William F. Flynn, Paul Robson, Daniel K. Mulkey
Summary: The study reveals a limited diversity of inhibitory neurons in the parafacial region around RTN, with Sst+ neurons seemingly uniquely inhibited by CO2/H+. These neurons play an important role in the respiratory activity of RTN.
Article
Biology
Caroline B. Ferreira, Talita M. Silva, Phelipe E. Silva, Claudio L. Castro, Catherine Czeisler, Jose J. Otero, Ana C. Takakura, Thiago S. Moreira
Summary: Mutations in the Phox2b gene, specifically the non-polyalanine repeat expansion mutations (NPARM) form, were found to affect respiratory control and the number of certain neurons. This study contributes to our understanding of the neuropathology of congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) and provides new evidence for the mechanisms underlying NPARM CCHS.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Coralie Herent, Severine Diem, Giovanni Usseglio, Gilles Fortin, Julien Bouvier
Summary: Through neural circuit tracing and activity interference in mice, we have discovered two systems in the central locomotor network that enhance respiration in relation to running. One system involves the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) and the other involves the lumbar enlargement of the spinal cord. These findings expand our understanding of respiratory hyperpnea and the functional implications of cell types and pathways traditionally associated with locomotion or respiration.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Kelsey C. Patterson, Uri Kahanovitch, Christopher M. Goncalves, John J. Hablitz, Alexander Staruschenko, Daniel K. Mulkey, Michelle L. Olsen
Summary: Astrocyte heterogeneity is a concept where astrocytes show variable morphological and gene expression profiles within or between brain regions, with retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) astrocytes being sensitive to changes in CO2/H(+) levels. These RTN astrocytes respond to CO2/H(+) by inhibiting an inward rectifying potassium conductance and depolarizing the membrane, potentially affecting downstream chemoreceptive signaling events. Involvement of Kir5.1 channels in CO2/H(+) sensitivity in astrocytes suggests their importance in early developmental regional CO2/H(+) sensing.
Article
Neurosciences
Yukari Nagakura, Ryoji Ide, Chikako Saiki, Nana Sato Hashizume, Toshio Imai
Summary: The study found widespread expression of the I1 receptor candidate protein nischarin in the brainstem of newborn rats, particularly in the ventrolateral medulla region, suggesting a potential role in respiratory control and chemoreception in newborn rats.
NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Yanming Tian, Danyang Geng, Yakun Wang, Luo Shi, Hongxiao Yu, Wei He, Yufang Zhu, Shirui Jun, Congrui Fu, Xin Wang, Xiangjian Zhang, Fang Yuan, Sheng Wang
Summary: This study shows that increased CO2-induced respiratory and cardiovascular responses in SHRs are associated with RTN neurons, particularly involving the activity of TASK-2 channels. The inhibition of TASK-2 channel activity by clofilium diminishes the amplified responses, indicating the important role played by RTN neurons in regulating these responses.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yingtang Shi, Daniel S. Stornetta, Robert J. Reklow, Alisha Sahu, Yvonne Wabara, Ashley Nguyen, Keyong Li, Yong Zhang, Edward Perez-Reyes, Rachel A. Ross, Bradford B. Lowell, Ruth L. Stornetta, Gregory D. Funk, Patrice G. Guyenet, Douglas A. Bayliss
Summary: It was found that RTN neurons express PACAP at a specific time point after birth to support breathing, while the lack of PACAP in RTN neurons leads to increased apnea. This study reveals key molecular components supporting breathing during a vulnerable period of life.
Article
Physiology
Florine Jeton, Anne-Sophie Perrin-Terrin, Celine-Hivda Yegen, Dominique Marchant, Jean-Paul Richalet, Aurelien Pichon, Emilie Boncoeur, Laurence Bodineau, Nicolas Voituron
Summary: Chronic Epo deficiency affects respiratory adaptation to hypercapnia and alters the medullary respiratory network. This may be due to the increased sensitivity of serotonin and non-serotonin neurons caused by Epo deficiency.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
C. M. Cleary, S. James, B. J. Maher, D. K. Mulkey
Summary: Disordered breathing is a hallmark of Pitt-Hopkins syndrome (PTHS), and targeting central Nav1.8 channels may improve behavioral abnormalities associated with PTHS.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Yingtang Shi, Cleyton R. Sobrinho, Jaseph Soto-Perez, Brenda M. Milla, Daniel S. Stornetta, Ruth L. Stornetta, Ana C. Takakura, Daniel K. Mulkey, Thiago S. Moreira, Douglas A. Bayliss
Summary: Research suggests that the role of 5-HT7 receptors in RTN neurons in response to CO2 stimulation is minimal, and these receptors are not essential for respiratory activity. 5-HT7 receptors are mainly expressed in a small subset of RTN neurons, and have no impact on CO2-stimulated breathing.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ruby M. Lam, Lars J. von Buchholtz, Melanie Falgairolle, Jennifer Osborne, Eleni Frangos, M. Rocio Servin-Vences, Maximilian Nagel, Minh Q. Nguyen, Monessha Jayabalan, Dimah Saade, Ardem Patapoutian, Carsten G. Bonnemann, Nicholas J. P. Ryba, Alexander T. Chesler
Summary: This study explored the influence of mechanosensation on mating and found that the mechanosensitive ion channel PIEZO2 plays a crucial role in the sensitivity to perineal touch and successful mating in mice. Humans with complete loss of PIEZO2 function experience genital hyposensitivity. These findings help to understand how perineal mechanoreceptors detect stimuli and trigger sexual responses, providing insights into the sensory basis of sexual pleasure.
Article
Pediatrics
Jacqueline Neubauer, Anna-Lena Forst, Richard Warth, Christian Peter Both, Cordula Haas, Joerg Thomas
Summary: Gene variants involved in respiratory chemoreception may play a role in a minority of SIDS cases, but they are not the dominant factor.
PEDIATRIC RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Anna Tokarska, Gilad Silberberg
Summary: The interactions between striatal cholinergic and GABAergic systems play a crucial role in reward-related behavior and reinforcement learning. By studying Chrna2-Cre mice, we discovered that striatal Chrna2-INs have different electrophysiological, morphological, and synaptic properties compared to other brain regions. These INs form inhibitory synaptic connections with striatal projection neurons and other INs and receive excitatory inputs from the primary motor cortex. Some Chrna2-INs respond to nicotinic input, suggesting reciprocal interactions with striatal cholinergic synapses.
Article
Neurosciences
Qi Xu, Dian-Ru Wang, Hui Dong, Li Chen, Jun Lu, Michael Lazarus, Yoan Cherasse, Gui-Hai Chen, Wei-Min Qu, Zhi-Li Huang
Summary: Activation of the medial part of the parabrachial nucleus (MPB) induces continuous wakefulness in rats for 10 hours, while chemogenetic inhibition of PB neurons decreases wakefulness for the same duration. This suggests that glutamatergic MPB neurons play an essential role in controlling wakefulness, and that the MPB-brainfore (BF) and MPB-lateral hypothalamus (LH) pathways are major neuronal circuits involved.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joseph W. Arthurs, Anna J. Bowen, Richard D. Palmiter, Nathan A. Baertsch
Summary: Breathing is regulated automatically by neural circuits in the medulla, but it is also influenced by behavior and emotion. Researchers identified a subset of neurons in the parabrachial nucleus that control specific breathing patterns in awake mice. These neurons exert conditional control over breathing in the awake state through projections to the ventral intermediate reticular zone of the medulla.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Kanako Iwasaki, Tomoyuki Fujiyama, Shinya Nakata, Minjeong Park, Chika Miyoshi, Noriko Hotta-Hirashima, Aya Ikkyu, Miyo Kakizaki, Fumihiro Sugiyama, Seiya Mizuno, Manabu Abe, Kenji Sakimura, Satoru Takahashi, Hiromasa Funato, Masashi Yanagisawa
Summary: Sleep is regulated in a homeostatic manner and deprivation increases sleep need. A recent study found a mutation that leads to increased sleep need in mice. Neuron-specific expression plays a role in increasing sleep in experimental mice.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Roberto Leiras, Jared M. Cregg, Ole Kiehn
Summary: This review examines recent advances in understanding the brainstem circuits involved in controlling locomotion. The study highlights the importance of delineated command circuits and the need to establish functional connections between these circuits and other brain areas. The unresolved issues regarding the integrated function of locomotor control are also discussed.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Xin Paul Wei, Matthew Collie, Bowen Dempsey, Gilles Fortin, Kevin Yackle
Summary: Human speech and the vocalizations of other species are rhythmic. The cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate the tempo of mammalian vocalizations are still unknown. A brainstem node called the intermediate reticular oscillator (iRO) has been identified to play a crucial role in structuring neonatal vocalizations by autonomously controlling key muscles and the respiratory rhythm generator.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bowen Dempsey, Selvee Sungeelee, Phillip Bokiniec, Zoubida Chettouh, Severine Diem, Sandra Autran, Evan R. Harrell, James F. A. Poulet, Carmen Birchmeier, Harry Carey, Auguste Genovesio, Simon McMullan, Christo Goridis, Gilles Fortin, Jean-Francois Brunet
Summary: The study uncovers two nuclei, IRt(Phox2b) and Peri5(Atoh1), in the brainstem of mice that can organize the movements for ingesting fluids. These neuronal groups pre-motor all jaw-opening and tongue muscles, revealing one of the subcortical nuclei underpinning a stereotyped feeding behavior.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Debora Masini, Ole Kiehn
Summary: The study demonstrates that cell-type specific stimulation of brainstem neurons can restore severe locomotor deficit in mouse models of parkinsonism, suggesting a potential target for neuromodulatory restoration of locomotor function in Parkinson's disease.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Susmita Malwade, Janina Gasthaus, Carmelo Bellardita, Matej Andelic, Borna Moric, Irina Korshunova, Ole Kiehn, Navneet A. Vasistha, Konstantin Khodosevich
Summary: This study found that the impact of 15q13.3 microdeletion on precursor proliferation is due to a reduction in Klf13 expression. The lack of Klf13 in the Df(h15q13.3)/+ cortex may be the main cause of perturbed density of cortical interneurons. Therefore, the behavioral defects seen in 15q13.3 microdeletion may result from developmental perturbation due to selective vulnerability of cortical interneurons during sensitive stages of their development.
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dounia Ben Amar, Karine Thoinet, Benjamin Villalard, Olivier Imbaud, Clelia Costechareyre, Loraine Jarrosson, Florie Reynaud, Julia Novion Ducassou, Yohann Coute, Jean-Francois Brunet, Valerie Combaret, Nadege Corradini, Celine Delloye-Bourgeois, Valerie Castellani
Summary: Using experimental models mimicking the embryonic context and proteomic/transcriptomic analyses, this study demonstrates that signals released by embryonic sympathetic ganglia can induce the transformation of neuroblastoma cells and activate gene programs promoting metastasis.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Tomoyuki Fujiyama, Henri Takenaka, Fuyuki Asano, Kazuya Miyanishi, Noriko Hotta-Hirashima, Yukiko Ishikawa, Satomi Kanno, Patricia Seoane-Collazo, Hideki Miwa, Mikio Hoshino, Masashi Yanagisawa, Hiromasa Funato
Summary: In addition to motor control, the cerebellum is also involved in memory, cognition, addiction, and social behavior. Its role in sleep-wake control is unclear, but it may play a role in the generation of slow waves.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maria Eleni Kastriti, Louis Faure, Dorothea Von Ahsen, Thibault Gerald Bouderlique, Johan Bostroem, Tatiana Solovieva, Cameron Jackson, Marianne Bronner, Dies Meijer, Saida Hadjab, Francois Lallemend, Alek Erickson, Marketa Kaucka, Viacheslav Dyachuk, Thomas Perlmann, Laura Lahti, Jan Krivanek, Jean-Francois Brunet, Kaj Fried, Igor Adameyko
Summary: The study reveals the similarities between Schwann cell precursors (SCPs) and neural crest cells in terms of transcriptional profiles and cell fate. SCPs diverge from neural crest cells during lineage differentiation. Defects in SCPs may affect neural crest cells along peripheral nerves and are associated with certain tumor development.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Laure Lecoin, Bowen Dempsey, Alexandra Garancher, Steeve Bourane, Pierre-Louis Ruffault, Marie-Pierre Morin-Surun, Nathalie Rocques, Martyn Goulding, Alain Eychene, Celio Pouponnot, Gilles Fortin, Jean Champagnat
Summary: Apneas are associated with various pathological and fatal conditions. This study shows that a mutation in the transcription factor Mafa leads to an abnormally high incidence of breath holding apneas and death in newborn mice. The mutation affects GABAergic inhibitory neurons, causing decreased motor drive to muscles controlling the airways.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Staci J. Kim, Noriko Hotta-Hirashima, Fuyuki Asano, Tomohiro Kitazono, Kanako Iwasaki, Shinya Nakata, Haruna Komiya, Nodoka Asama, Taeko Matsuoka, Tomoyuki Fujiyama, Aya Ikkyu, Miyo Kakizaki, Satomi Kanno, Jinhwan Choi, Deependra Kumar, Takumi Tsukamoto, Asmaa Elhosainy, Seiya Mizuno, Shinichi Miyazaki, Yousuke Tsuneoka, Fumihiro Sugiyama, Satoru Takahashi, Yu Hayashi, Masafumi Muratani, Qinghua Liu, Chika Miyoshi, Masashi Yanagisawa, Hiromasa Funato
Summary: Progress has been made in elucidating the regulation of sleep and wakefulness at the neurocircuit level. This study identifies histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) as a sleep-regulating molecule and demonstrates that the LKB1-SIK3-HDAC4 signaling cascade plays a role in sleep regulation. Additionally, the study shows that SIK3 signaling in excitatory neurons in the cerebral cortex and hypothalamus positively regulates EEG delta power and non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREMS) duration, respectively. These findings provide insights into the intracellular events and circuit-level mechanisms that control sleep.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Li-Ju Hsu, Maelle Bertho, Ole Kiehn
Summary: This study investigates how locomotor commands are transmitted between the brain and spinal cord in mammals. The findings reveal that specific brainstem areas contain neurons that directly initiate locomotion in the spinal cord. Using calcium imaging, the study also visualizes the transformation of this command into rhythmic locomotor activity through glutamatergic modules in the spinal cord.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Correction
Neurosciences
Haizea Goni-Erro, Raghavendra Selvan, Vittorio Caggiano, Roberto Leiras, Ole Kiehn
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Haizea Goni-Erro, Raghavendra Selvan, Roberto Leiras, Ole Kiehn
Summary: Arrest of ongoing movements is an important aspect of motor programs, which can be triggered by the termination of goal-directed movements or as a global response to fear or salient environmental cues. The study discovers that activation of glutamatergic Chx10-derived neurons in the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) in mice can induce a global motor arrest with pause-and-play pattern and simultaneous apnea and bradycardia. This finding suggests the existence of a motor command for global motor arrest and identifies a role for rostrally biased glutamatergic neurons in the PPN.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Alexia Montalant, Ole Kiehn, Jean-Francois Perrier
Summary: Spinal cord astrocytes respond to dopamine and noradrenaline with compartmentalized calcium responses that start in endfeet. Dopamine induces localized responses, while noradrenaline triggers stronger, spreading responses. These findings expand our understanding of astrocyte-neurotransmitter interactions and their roles in central nervous system physiology.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)