Nasal respiration modulates pain perception via the olfactory Bulb-Anterior cingulate cortex circuit.

ABSTRACT: Breath regulation has been shown to reduce pain and anxiety-like emotions in humans, but the underlying neural mechanisms are still unclear. Here, we demonstrate that nasal respiratory sensory deprivation (Triton X-100) reduces the respiration-entrained rhythm (RR) transmitted from the olfactory bulb (OB) to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), ultimately exerting an antinociceptive effect in a mouse model of neuropathic pain. Specifically, optogenetics, in vivo fiber photometry, viral tracing, and immunofluorescence staining revealed that nasal respiratory sensory deprivation activates GABAergic projections from the OB to the ACC and inhibits glutamatergic (Glu) neurons in the ACC. Chemogenetic activation or inhibition of the OB-ACC^Glu pathway leads to nociceptive hypers

SUBMITTER: Cheng R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12616037 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature