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Gos A, Steiner J, Trübner K, Mawrin C, Kaliszan M, Gos T. Impairment of the GABAergic system in the anterior insular cortex of heroin-addicted males. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024:10.1007/s00406-024-01848-2. [PMID: 38980335 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-024-01848-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Opioid addiction is a global problem, causing the greatest health burden among drug use disorders, with opioid overdose deaths topping the statistics of fatal overdoses. The multifunctional anterior insular cortex (AIC) is involved in inhibitory control, which is severely impaired in opioid addiction. GABAergic interneurons shape the output of the AIC, where abnormalities have been reported in individuals addicted to opioids. In these neurons, glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) with its isoforms GAD 65 and 67 is a key enzyme in the synthesis of GABA, and research data point to a dysregulation of GABAergic activity in the AIC in opioid addiction. Our study, which was performed on paraffin-embedded brains from the Magdeburg Brain Bank, aimed to investigate abnormalities in the GABAergic function of the AIC in opioid addiction by densitometric evaluation of GAD 65/67-immunostained neuropil. The study showed bilaterally increased neuropil density in layers III and V in 13 male heroin-addicted males compared to 12 healthy controls, with significant U-test P values for layer V bilaterally. Analysis of confounding variables showed that age, brain volume and duration of formalin fixation did not confound the results. Our findings suggest a dysregulation of GABAergic activity in the AIC in opioid addiction, which is consistent with experimental data from animal models and human neuroimaging studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Gos
- Department of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychiatry, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Johann Steiner
- Department of Psychiatry, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Kurt Trübner
- Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Christian Mawrin
- Department of Neuropathology, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Michał Kaliszan
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Ul. Dębowa 23, 80-204, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Tomasz Gos
- Department of Psychiatry, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Ul. Dębowa 23, 80-204, Gdańsk, Poland.
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2
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Peng S, Yang X, Meng S, Liu F, Lv Y, Yang H, Kong Y, Xie W, Li M. Dual circuits originating from the ventral hippocampus independently facilitate affective empathy. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114277. [PMID: 38805397 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Affective empathy enables social mammals to learn and transfer emotion to conspecifics, but an understanding of the neural circuitry and genetics underlying affective empathy is still very limited. Here, using the naive observational fear between cagemates as a paradigm similar to human affective empathy and chemo/optogenetic neuroactivity manipulation in mouse brain, we investigate the roles of multiple brain regions in mouse affective empathy. Remarkably, two neural circuits originating from the ventral hippocampus, previously unknown to function in empathy, are revealed to regulate naive observational fear. One is from ventral hippocampal pyramidal neurons to lateral septum GABAergic neurons, and the other is from ventral hippocampus pyramidal neurons to nucleus accumbens dopamine-receptor-expressing neurons. Furthermore, we identify the naive observational-fear-encoding neurons in the ventral hippocampus. Our findings highlight the potentially diverse regulatory pathways of empathy in social animals, shedding light on the mechanisms underlying empathy circuity and its disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siqi Peng
- School of Life Science and Technology, The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Xiuqi Yang
- School of Life Science and Technology, The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Sibie Meng
- School of Life Science and Technology, The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Fuyuan Liu
- Jiangsu Provincial Joint International Research Laboratory of Medical Information Processing, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Yaochen Lv
- School of Life Science and Technology, The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Huiquan Yang
- School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Youyong Kong
- Jiangsu Provincial Joint International Research Laboratory of Medical Information Processing, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Wei Xie
- School of Life Science and Technology, The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China; Jiangsu Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Moyi Li
- School of Life Science and Technology, The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China; Jiangsu Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China.
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3
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Hernández-Ortiz E, Luis-Islas J, Tecuapetla F, Gutierrez R, Bermúdez-Rattoni F. Top-down circuitry from the anterior insular cortex to VTA dopamine neurons modulates reward-related memory. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113365. [PMID: 37924513 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The insular cortex (IC) has been linked to the processing of interoceptive and exteroceptive signals associated with addictive behavior. However, whether the IC modulates the acquisition of drug-related affective states by direct top-down connectivity with ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons is unknown. We found that photostimulation of VTA terminals of the anterior insular cortex (aIC) induces rewarding contextual memory, modulates VTA activity, and triggers dopamine release within the VTA. Employing neuronal recordings and neurochemical and transsynaptic tagging techniques, we disclose the functional top-down organization tagging the aIC pre-synaptic neuronal bodies and identifying VTA recipient neurons. Furthermore, systemic administration of amphetamine altered the VTA excitability of neurons modulated by the aIC projection, where photoactivation enhances, whereas photoinhibition impairs, a contextual rewarding behavior. Our study reveals a key circuit involved in developing and retaining drug reward-related contextual memory, providing insight into the neurobiological basis of addictive behavior and helping develop therapeutic addiction strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Hernández-Ortiz
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular, División de Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México City 04510, México
| | - Jorge Luis-Islas
- Laboratory of Neurobiology of Appetitive, Department of Pharmacology, Center of Aging Research (CIE), Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV), Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Fatuel Tecuapetla
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular, División de Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México City 04510, México
| | - Ranier Gutierrez
- Laboratory of Neurobiology of Appetitive, Department of Pharmacology, Center of Aging Research (CIE), Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV), Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Federico Bermúdez-Rattoni
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular, División de Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México City 04510, México.
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Xiao S, Sun H, Zhu Y, Shen Z, Zhu X, Yao PA, Wang Y, Zhang C, Yu W, Wu Z, Sun J, Xu C, Du J, He X, Fang J, Shao X. Electroacupuncture alleviates the relapse of pain-related aversive memory by activating KOR and inhibiting GABAergic neurons in the insular cortex. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:10711-10721. [PMID: 37679857 PMCID: PMC10560575 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Pain-related aversive memory is common in chronic pain patients. Electroacupuncture has been demonstrated to block pain-related aversive memory. The insular cortex is a key region closely related to aversive behaviors. In our study, a potential mechanism underlying the effect of electroacupuncture treatment on pain-related aversive memory behaviors relative to the insular cortex was investigated. Our study used the chemogenetic method, pharmacological method, electroacupuncture intervention, and behavioral detection. Our study showed that both inhibition of gamma-aminobutyric acidergic neurons and activation of the kappa opioid receptor in the insular cortex blocked the pain-related aversive memory behaviors induced by 2 crossover injections of carrageenan in mice; conversely, both the activation of gamma-aminobutyric acidergic neurons and inhibition of kappa opioid receptor in the insular cortex play similar roles in inducing pain-related aversive memory behaviors following 2 crossover injections of carrageenan. In addition, activation of gamma-aminobutyric acidergic neurons in the insular cortex reversed the effect of kappa opioid receptor activation in the insular cortex. Moreover, electroacupuncture effectively blocked pain-related aversive memory behaviors in model mice, which was reversed by both activation of gamma-aminobutyric acidergic neurons and inhibition of kappa opioid receptor in the insular cortex. The effect of electroacupuncture on blocking pain-related aversive memory behaviors may be related to the activation of the kappa opioid receptor and inhibition of gamma-aminobutyric acidergic neurons in the insular cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siqi Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Haiju Sun
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Yichen Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Zui Shen
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Xixiao Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Ping-an Yao
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Yifang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Wei Yu
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Zemin Wu
- Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310060, China
| | - Jing Sun
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Chi Xu
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Junying Du
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Xiaofen He
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Jianqiao Fang
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Xiaomei Shao
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
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Xiao L, Jiang S, Wang Y, Gao C, Liu C, Huo X, Li W, Guo B, Wang C, Sun Y, Wang A, Feng Y, Wang F, Sun T. Continuous high-frequency deep brain stimulation of the anterior insula modulates autism-like behavior in a valproic acid-induced rat model. J Transl Med 2022; 20:570. [PMID: 36474209 PMCID: PMC9724311 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-022-03787-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Until now, the treatment of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain a difficult problem. The insula is involved in empathy and sensorimotor integration, which are often impaired in individuals with ASD. Deep brain stimulation, modulating neuronal activity in specific brain circuits, has recently been considered as a promising intervention for neuropsychiatric disorders. Valproic acid (VPA) is a potential teratogenic agent, and prenatal exposure can cause autism-like symptoms including repetitive behaviors and defective sociability. Herein, we investigated the effects of continuous high-frequency deep brain stimulation in the anterior insula of rats exposed to VPA and explored cognitive functions, behavior, and molecular proteins connected to autism spectrum disorder. METHODS VPA-exposed offspring were bilaterally implanted with electrodes in the anterior insula (Day 0) with a recovery period of 1 week. (Day 0-7). High-frequency deep brain stimulation was applied from days 11 to 29. Three behavioral tests, including three-chamber social interaction test, were performed on days 7, 13, 18, 25 and 36, and several rats were used for analysis of immediate early genes and proteomic after deep brain stimulation intervention. Meanwhile, animals were subjected to a 20 day spatial learning and cognitive rigidity test using IntelliCage on day 11. RESULTS Deep brain stimulation improved the sociability and social novelty preference at day 18 prior to those at day 13, and the improvement has reached the upper limit compared to day 25. As for repetitive/stereotypic-like behavior, self- grooming time were reduced at day 18 and reached the upper limit, and the numbers of burried marbles were reduced at day 13 prior to those at day 18 and day 25. The improvements of sociability and social novelty preference were persistent after the stimulation had ceased. Spatial learning ability and cognitive rigidity were unaffected. We identified 35 proteins in the anterior insula, some of which were intimately linked to autism, and their expression levels were reversed upon administration of deep brain stimulation. CONCLUSIONS Autism-like behavior was ameliorated and autism-related proteins were reversed in the insula by deep brain stimulation intervention, these findings reveal that the insula may be a potential target for DBS in the treatment of autism, which provide a theoretical basis for its clinical application., although future studies are still warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lifei Xiao
- grid.412194.b0000 0004 1761 9803Ningxia Key Laboratory of Cerebrocranial Disease, Incubation Base of National Key Laboratory, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China ,grid.413385.80000 0004 1799 1445Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China
| | - Shucai Jiang
- grid.416966.a0000 0004 1758 1470Department of Neurosurgery, Weifang People’s Hospital, Weifang, 261000 China
| | - Yangyang Wang
- grid.412194.b0000 0004 1761 9803Ningxia Key Laboratory of Cerebrocranial Disease, Incubation Base of National Key Laboratory, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China
| | - Caibin Gao
- grid.413385.80000 0004 1799 1445Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China
| | - Cuicui Liu
- grid.477991.5Department of Otolaryngology and Head Surgery, The First People’s Hospital of Yinchuan, Yinchuan, 750000 China
| | - Xianhao Huo
- grid.412194.b0000 0004 1761 9803Ningxia Key Laboratory of Cerebrocranial Disease, Incubation Base of National Key Laboratory, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China ,grid.413385.80000 0004 1799 1445Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China
| | - Wenchao Li
- grid.412194.b0000 0004 1761 9803Ningxia Key Laboratory of Cerebrocranial Disease, Incubation Base of National Key Laboratory, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China
| | - Baorui Guo
- grid.440288.20000 0004 1758 0451Department of Neurosurgery, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, 710000 China
| | - Chaofan Wang
- grid.412194.b0000 0004 1761 9803Ningxia Key Laboratory of Cerebrocranial Disease, Incubation Base of National Key Laboratory, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China
| | - Yu Sun
- grid.412194.b0000 0004 1761 9803Ningxia Key Laboratory of Cerebrocranial Disease, Incubation Base of National Key Laboratory, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China
| | - Anni Wang
- grid.412194.b0000 0004 1761 9803Ningxia Key Laboratory of Cerebrocranial Disease, Incubation Base of National Key Laboratory, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China
| | - Yan Feng
- grid.412194.b0000 0004 1761 9803Ningxia Key Laboratory of Cerebrocranial Disease, Incubation Base of National Key Laboratory, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China
| | - Feng Wang
- grid.13402.340000 0004 1759 700XDepartment of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310000 China
| | - Tao Sun
- grid.412194.b0000 0004 1761 9803Ningxia Key Laboratory of Cerebrocranial Disease, Incubation Base of National Key Laboratory, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China ,grid.413385.80000 0004 1799 1445Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000 China
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Li W, Zhang C, Wang YY, Xiao L, Feng Y, Huo X, Wang C, Sun Y, Wang F, Sun T. Alterations of RNAs in the insula related to cocaine-induced condition place preference in adolescent mice. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2022; 621:109-115. [PMID: 35820280 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2022.06.080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Cocaine as a highly addictive psychostimulant can cause changes in the body at the cellular and molecular levels over a long period of time. It reminds us that cocaine may have a potential role in post-transcriptional regulation, but the alteration of insula-expression profile in adolescent cocaine use disorder (CUD) has not been reported. To reveal the mechanisms underlying the post-transcriptional regulation of cocaine, we investigate the transcriptome in the insula of cocaine-induced mice based on high-throughput strand-specific RNA sequencing. We analyzed the alterations of messenger RNA (mRNA) expression profile in the insula of cocaine-induced condition place preference (CPP) mice and then correlated it with microRNAs to reveal their involvement in the formation of cocaine-induced CPP. In this study, a total of 27786 genes were identified, 5750 new genes (novel expressed transcripts of unannotated in the reference genome) were discovered, among which 1,205 were annotated functionally. A total of 198 differentially expressed genes (DEG) that functioned in synaptic transmission, cholinergic, developmental process, neurotransmitter metabolic process, drug catabolism, cellular response to drug, MAP kinase activity, ceramidase activity, and drug resistance were significantly enriched. Further analysis showed that 26045 mRNAs formed 45,208 network-relationship pairs with 1770 microRNAs. In the current study, our work was the first to reveal that alterations of RNAs in the insula, as a core brain region of the neural circuits of interoception, were involved in the process of cocaine-induced CPP of adolescent mice. These findings enrich the biology and expand the molecular regulatory network related to adolescence CUD. They provided the possibility that some DEGs may be used as novel biomarkers for the diagnosis or evaluation of substance use disorder, and also provided clues for elucidating the neurobiological mechanism of substance use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenchao Li
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Craniocerebral Disease, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Chun Zhang
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Craniocerebral Disease, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Yang Yang Wang
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Craniocerebral Disease, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Lifei Xiao
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Craniocerebral Disease, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Yan Feng
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Craniocerebral Disease, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Xianhao Huo
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Craniocerebral Disease, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Chaofan Wang
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Craniocerebral Disease, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Yu Sun
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Craniocerebral Disease, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Feng Wang
- Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Tao Sun
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Craniocerebral Disease, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
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Cortical Modulation of Nociception. Neuroscience 2021; 458:256-270. [PMID: 33465410 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 11/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Nociception is the neuronal process of encoding noxious stimuli and could be modulated at peripheral, spinal, brainstem, and cortical levels. At cortical levels, several areas including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), prefrontal cortex (PFC), ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO), insular cortex (IC), motor cortex (MC), and somatosensory cortices are involved in nociception modulation through two main mechanisms: (i) a descending modulatory effect at spinal level by direct corticospinal projections or mostly by activation of brainstem structures (i.e. periaqueductal grey matter (PAG), locus coeruleus (LC), the nucleus of raphe (RM) and rostroventral medulla (RVM)); and by (ii) cortico-cortical or cortico-subcortical interactions. This review summarizes evidence related to the participation of the aforementioned cortical areas in nociception modulation and different neurotransmitters or neuromodulators that have been studied in each area. Besides, we point out the importance of considering intracortical neuronal populations and receptors expression, as well as, nociception-induced cortical changes, both functional and connectional, to better understand this modulatory effect. Finally, we discuss the possible mechanisms that could potentiate the use of cortical stimulation as a promising procedure in pain alleviation.
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