Direct Parabrachial-Cortical Connectivity.

ABSTRACT: The parabrachial nucleus (PB) in the upper brain stem tegmentum includes several neuronal subpopulations with a wide variety of connections and functions. A subpopulation of PB neurons projects axons directly to the cerebral cortex, and limbic areas of the cerebral cortex send a return projection directly to the PB. We used retrograde and Cre-dependent anterograde tracing to identify genetic markers and characterize this PB-cortical interconnectivity in mice. Cortical projections originate from glutamatergic PB neurons that contain Lmx1b (81%), estrogen receptor alpha (26%), and Satb2 (20%), plus mRNA for the neuropeptides cholecystokinin (Cck, 48%) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (Calca, 13%), with minimal contribution from FoxP2+ PB neurons (2%). Axons from the PB produce an extensiv

SUBMITTER: Grady F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7391272 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature