Mechanoreceptor synapses in the brainstem shape the central representation of touch.

ABSTRACT: Mammals use glabrous (hairless) skin of their hands and feet to navigate and manipulate their environment. Cortical maps of the body surface across species contain disproportionately large numbers of neurons dedicated to glabrous skin sensation, in part reflecting a higher density of mechanoreceptors that innervate these skin regions. Here, we find that disproportionate representation of glabrous skin emerges over postnatal development at the first synapse between peripheral mechanoreceptors and their central targets in the brainstem. Mechanoreceptor synapses undergo developmental refinement that depends on proximity of their terminals to glabrous skin, such that those innervating glabrous skin make synaptic connections that expand their central representation. In mice incapable of sensing

SUBMITTER: Lehnert BP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8556359 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature