Project description:HEAL PRECISION: Penn Human Precision Pain Center (HPPC): Discovery and Functional Evaluation of Human Primary Somatosensory Neurons at Baseline and Chronic Pain Conditions
Project description:HEAL PRECISION: Penn Human Precision Pain Center (HPPC): Discovery and Functional Evaluation of Human Primary Somatosensory Neurons at Baseline and Chronic Pain Conditions
Project description:Our perception of pain changes according to expectation, context and mood illustrating how top-down-circuits affect sensory processing. Here we developed an intersectional platform for identifying supraspinal descending neurons that are engaged when an animal experiences pain. Amongst these, we identified a cluster of cells in the pontine micturition center (Barrington’s nucleus), expressing corticotropin-releasing-hormone (BarCrh) that detect painful but not innocuous stimuli. When activated, BarCrh-neurons attenuate nocifensive responses as well as tactile neuropathic pain. Mechanistically, pain related input from the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray activates BarCrh-neurons, which in turn project to the spinal dorsal horn to mediate analgesia. In combination, our data demonstrate that Barrington’s nucleus is not just a relay station dedicated to triggering micturition but also powerfully controls painful sensory input to the brain.
Project description:Distinct representation of visceral and somatic pain by unique PVH neuronal ensembles and suggested that PVH as a pain sorting center that distinctly processes visceral and somatic pain, providing a new framework for comprehending how the brain processes nociceptive information and identifying potential molecular targets for specific pain processing.