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Kobayashi M, Nakaya Y, Kobayashi S. Functional roles of descending projections from the cerebral cortex to the trigeminal spinal subnucleus caudalis in orofacial nociceptive information processing. J Oral Biosci 2024; 66:304-307. [PMID: 38734177 DOI: 10.1016/j.job.2024.05.004] [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: 04/07/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The trigeminal spinal subnucleus caudalis (Sp5C), also known as the medullary dorsal horn, receives orofacial somatosensory inputs, particularly nociceptive inputs, from the trigeminal nerve. In the Sp5C, excitatory and inhibitory neurons, glutamatergic and GABAergic/glycinergic neurons, respectively, form the local circuits. The axons of the glutamatergic neurons in lamina I ascend toward the thalamic and parabrachial nuclei, and this projection is the main pathway of orofacial nociception. Additionally, the axons of the higher brain regions, including the locus coeruleus, dorsal raphe, and cerebral cortex, are sent to the Sp5C. HIGHLIGHT Among these descending projections, this review focuses on the functional profiles of the corticotrigeminal projections to the Sp5C, along with their anatomical aspects. The primary and secondary somatosensory and insular cortices are of particular interest. CONCLUSION Corticotrigeminal projections from the somatosensory cortex to the Sp5C play a suppressive role in nociceptive information processing, whereas recent studies have demonstrated a facilitative role of the insular cortex in nociceptive information processing at the Sp5C level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masayuki Kobayashi
- Department of Pharmacology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan; Division of Oral and Craniomaxillofacial Research, Dental Research Center, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan.
| | - Yuka Nakaya
- Department of Pharmacology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan; Division of Oral and Craniomaxillofacial Research, Dental Research Center, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan.
| | - Satomi Kobayashi
- Department of Pharmacology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan; Department of Biology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan.
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Noseda R, Villanueva L. Central generators of migraine and autonomic cephalalgias as targets for personalized pain management: Translational links. Eur J Pain 2023; 27:1126-1138. [PMID: 37421221 PMCID: PMC10979820 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.2158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Migraine oscillates between different states in association with internal homeostatic functions and biological rhythms that become more easily dysregulated in genetically susceptible individuals. Clinical and pre-clinical data on migraine pathophysiology support a primary role of the central nervous system (CNS) through 'dysexcitability' of certain brain networks, and a critical contribution of the peripheral sensory and autonomic signalling from the intracranial meningeal innervation. This review focuses on the most relevant back and forward translational studies devoted to the assessment of CNS dysfunctions involved in primary headaches and discusses the role they play in rendering the brain susceptible to headache states. METHODS AND RESULTS We collected a body of scientific literature from human and animal investigations that provide a compelling perspective on the anatomical and functional underpinnings of the CNS in migraine and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias. We focus on medullary, hypothalamic and corticofugal modulation mechanisms that represent strategic neural substrates for elucidating the links between trigeminovascular maladaptive states, migraine triggering and the temporal phenotype of the disease. CONCLUSION It is argued that a better understanding of homeostatic dysfunctional states appears fundamental and may benefit the development of personalized therapeutic approaches for improving clinical outcomes in primary headache disorders. SIGNIFICANCE This review focuses on the most relevant back and forward translational studies showing the crucial role of top-down brain modulation in triggering and maintaining primary headache states and how these central dysfunctions may interact with personalized pain management strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Noseda
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Luis Villanueva
- Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP), Université Paris-Cité, Team Imaging Biomarkers of Brain Disorders (IMA-Brain), INSERM U1266, Paris, France
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Ebert C, Bagdasarian K, Haidarliu S, Ahissar E, Wallach A. Interactions of Whisking and Touch Signals in the Rat Brainstem. J Neurosci 2021; 41:4826-4839. [PMID: 33893218 PMCID: PMC8260172 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1410-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Perception is an active process, requiring the integration of both proprioceptive and exteroceptive information. In the rat's vibrissal system, a classical model for active sensing, the relative contribution of the two information streams was previously studied at the peripheral, thalamic, and cortical levels. Contributions of brainstem neurons were only indirectly inferred for some trigeminal nuclei according to their thalamic projections. The current work addressed this knowledge gap by performing the first comparative study of the encoding of proprioceptive whisking and exteroceptive touch signals in the oralis (SpVo), interpolaris (SpVi), and paratrigeminal (Pa5) brainstem nuclei. We used artificial whisking in anesthetized male rats, which allows a systematic analysis of the relative contribution of the proprioceptive and exteroceptive information streams along the ascending pathways in the absence of motor or cognitive top-down modulations. We found that (1) neurons in the rostral and caudal parts of the SpVi convey whisking and touch information, respectively, as predicted by their thalamic projections; (2) neurons in the SpVo encode both whisking and (primarily) touch information; and (3) neurons of the Pa5 encode a complex combination of whisking and touch information. In particular, the Pa5 contains a relatively large fraction of neurons that are inhibited by active touch, a response observed so far only in the thalamus. Overall, our systematic characterization of afferent responses to active touch in the trigeminal brainstem approves the hypothesized functions of SpVi neurons and presents evidence that SpVo and Pa5 neurons are involved in the processing of active vibrissal touch.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The present work constitutes the first comparative study of the encoding of proprioceptive (whisking) and exteroceptive (touch) information in the rat's brainstem trigeminal nuclei, the first stage of vibrissal processing in the CNS. It shows that (1) as expected, the rostral and caudal interpolaris neurons convey primarily whisking and touch information, respectively; (2) the oralis nucleus, whose function was previously unknown, encodes both whisking and (primarily) touch touch information; (3) a subtractive computation, reported at the thalamic level, already occurs at the brainstem level; and (4) a novel afferent pathway probably ascends via the paratrigeminal nucleus, encoding both proprioceptive and exteroceptive information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coralie Ebert
- Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel 7610001
| | | | | | - Ehud Ahissar
- Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel 7610001
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Castro A, Raver C, Li Y, Uddin O, Rubin D, Ji Y, Masri R, Keller A. Cortical Regulation of Nociception of the Trigeminal Nucleus Caudalis. J Neurosci 2017; 37:11431-11440. [PMID: 29066554 PMCID: PMC5700425 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3897-16.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2016] [Revised: 10/01/2017] [Accepted: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Pain perception is strongly influenced by descending pathways from "higher" brain centers that regulate the activity of spinal circuits. In addition to the extensively studied descending system originating from the medulla, the neocortex provides dense anatomical projections that directly target neurons in the spinal cord and the spinal trigeminal nucleus caudalis (SpVc). Evidence exists that these corticotrigeminal pathways may modulate the processing of nociceptive inputs by SpVc, and regulate pain perception. We demonstrate here, with anatomical and optogenetic methods, and using both rats and mice (of both sexes), that corticotrigeminal axons densely innervate SpVc, where they target and directly activate inhibitory and excitatory neurons. Electrophysiological recordings reveal that stimulation of primary somatosensory cortex potently suppresses SpVc responses to noxious stimuli and produces behavioral hypoalgesia. These findings demonstrate that the corticotrigeminal pathway is a potent modulator of nociception and a potential target for interventions to alleviate chronic pain.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Many chronic pain conditions are resistant to conventional therapy. Promising new approaches to pain management capitalize on the brain's own mechanisms for controlling pain perception. Here we demonstrate that cortical neurons directly innervate the brainstem to drive feedforward inhibition of nociceptive neurons. This corticotrigeminal pathway suppresses the activity of these neurons and produces analgesia. This corticotrigeminal pathway may constitute a therapeutic target for chronic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Castro
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, and
| | - Charles Raver
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, and
| | - Ying Li
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, and
| | - Olivia Uddin
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, and
| | - David Rubin
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, and
| | - Yadong Ji
- Department of Endodontics, Prosthodontics and Operative Surgery, Baltimore College of Dentistry, Program in Neuroscience, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
| | - Radi Masri
- Department of Endodontics, Prosthodontics and Operative Surgery, Baltimore College of Dentistry, Program in Neuroscience, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
| | - Asaf Keller
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, and
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Shaping somatosensory responses in awake rats: cortical modulation of thalamic neurons. Brain Struct Funct 2017; 223:851-872. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-017-1522-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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Torta D, Legrain V, Mouraux A, Valentini E. Attention to pain! A neurocognitive perspective on attentional modulation of pain in neuroimaging studies. Cortex 2017; 89:120-134. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Revised: 12/05/2016] [Accepted: 01/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Lo FS, Erzurumlu RS. Sensory Activity-Dependent and Sensory Activity-Independent Properties of the Developing Rodent Trigeminal Principal Nucleus. Dev Neurosci 2016; 38:163-170. [PMID: 27287019 DOI: 10.1159/000446395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2015] [Accepted: 04/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The whisker-sensory trigeminal central pathway of rodents is an established model for studies of activity-dependent neural plasticity. The first relay station of the pathway is the trigeminal principal nucleus (PrV), the ventral part of which receives sensory inputs mainly from the infraorbital branch of the maxillary trigeminal nerve (ION). Whisker-sensory afferents play an important role in the development of the morphological and physiological properties of PrV neurons. In neonates, deafferentation by ION transection leads to the disruption of whisker-related neural patterns (barrelettes) and cell death within a specific time window (critical period), as revealed by morphological studies. Whisker-sensory inputs control synaptic elimination, postsynaptic AMPA receptor trafficking, astrocyte-mediated synaptogenesis, and receptive-field characteristics of PrV cells, without a postnatal critical period. Sensory activity-dependent synaptic plasticity requires the activation of NMDA receptors and involves the participation of glia. However, the basic physiological properties of PrV neurons, such as cell type-specific ion channels, presynaptic terminal function, postsynaptic NMDA receptor subunit composition, and formation of the inhibitory circuitry, are independent of sensory inputs. Therefore, the first relay station of the whisker sensation is largely mature-like and functional at birth. Delineation of activity-dependent and activity-independent features of the postnatal PrV is important for understanding the development and functional characteristics of downstream trigeminal stations in the thalamus and neocortex. This mini review focuses on such features of the developing rodent PrV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fu-Sun Lo
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md., USA
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Lo FS, Erzurumlu RS. Neonatal sensory nerve injury-induced synaptic plasticity in the trigeminal principal sensory nucleus. Exp Neurol 2016; 275 Pt 2:245-52. [PMID: 25956829 PMCID: PMC4636484 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2015.04.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Sensory deprivation studies in neonatal mammals, such as monocular eye closure, whisker trimming, and chemical blockade of the olfactory epithelium have revealed the importance of sensory inputs in brain wiring during distinct critical periods. But very few studies have paid attention to the effects of neonatal peripheral sensory nerve damage on synaptic wiring of the central nervous system (CNS) circuits. Peripheral somatosensory nerves differ from other special sensory afferents in that they are more prone to crush or severance because of their locations in the body. Unlike the visual and auditory afferents, these nerves show regenerative capabilities after damage. Uniquely, damage to a somatosensory peripheral nerve does not only block activity incoming from the sensory receptors but also mediates injury-induced neuro- and glial chemical signals to the brain through the uninjured central axons of the primary sensory neurons. These chemical signals can have both far more and longer lasting effects than sensory blockade alone. Here we review studies which focus on the consequences of neonatal peripheral sensory nerve damage in the principal sensory nucleus of the brainstem trigeminal complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fu-Sun Lo
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
| | - Reha S Erzurumlu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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Torta DM, Churyukanov MV, Plaghki L, Mouraux A. The effect of heterotopic noxious conditioning stimulation on Aδ-, C- and Aβ-fibre brain responses in humans. Eur J Neurosci 2015; 42:2707-15. [PMID: 26369522 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2015] [Revised: 09/07/2015] [Accepted: 09/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Human studies have shown that heterotopic nociceptive conditioning stimulation (HNCS) applied to a given body location reduces the percept and brain responses elicited by noxious test stimuli delivered at a remote body location. It remains unclear to what extent this effect of HNCS relies on the spinal-bulbar-spinal loop mediating the effect of diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNICs) described in animals, and/or on top-down cortical mechanisms modulating nociception. Importantly, some studies have examined the effects of HNCS on the brain responses to nociceptive input conveyed by Aδ-fibres. In contrast, no studies have explored the effects of HNCS on the responses to selective nociceptive C-fibre input and non-nociceptive Aβ-fibre input. In this study, we measured the intensity of perception and event-related potentials (ERPs) to stimuli activating Aδ-, C- and Aβ-fibres, before, during and after HNCS, obtained by immersing one foot in painful cold water. We observed that (i) the perceived intensity of nociceptive Aδ- and C-stimuli was reduced during HNCS, and (ii) the ERPs elicited by Aδ- and Aβ- and C-stimuli were also reduced during HNCS. Importantly, because Aβ-ERPs are related to primary afferents that ascend directly through the dorsal columns without being relayed at spinal level, the modulation of these responses may not be explained by an influence of descending projections modulating the transmission of nociceptive input at spinal level. Therefore, our results indicate that, in humans, HNCS should be used with caution as a direct measure of DNIC-related mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana M Torta
- Laboratoire d'algologie, Institute of Neurosciences (IONS), Université catholique de Louvain, 53, Avenue Mounier - UCL 53.75, B-1200, Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Maxim V Churyukanov
- Laboratoire d'algologie, Institute of Neurosciences (IONS), Université catholique de Louvain, 53, Avenue Mounier - UCL 53.75, B-1200, Bruxelles, Belgium.,A. Ya. Kozhevnikov Clinic of Nervous Diseases, The I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Leon Plaghki
- Laboratoire d'algologie, Institute of Neurosciences (IONS), Université catholique de Louvain, 53, Avenue Mounier - UCL 53.75, B-1200, Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - André Mouraux
- Laboratoire d'algologie, Institute of Neurosciences (IONS), Université catholique de Louvain, 53, Avenue Mounier - UCL 53.75, B-1200, Bruxelles, Belgium
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Smith JB, Watson GDR, Alloway KD, Schwarz C, Chakrabarti S. Corticofugal projection patterns of whisker sensorimotor cortex to the sensory trigeminal nuclei. Front Neural Circuits 2015; 9:53. [PMID: 26483640 PMCID: PMC4588702 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2015.00053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2015] [Accepted: 09/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The primary (S1) and secondary (S2) somatosensory cortices project to several trigeminal sensory nuclei. One putative function of these corticofugal projections is the gating of sensory transmission through the trigeminal principal nucleus (Pr5), and some have proposed that S1 and S2 project differentially to the spinal trigeminal subnuclei, which have inhibitory circuits that could inhibit or disinhibit the output projections of Pr5. Very little, however, is known about the origin of sensorimotor corticofugal projections and their patterns of termination in the various trigeminal nuclei. We addressed this issue by injecting anterograde tracers in S1, S2 and primary motor (M1) cortices, and quantitatively characterizing the distribution of labeled terminals within the entire rostro-caudal chain of trigeminal sub-nuclei. We confirmed our anterograde tracing results by injecting retrograde tracers at various rostro-caudal levels within the trigeminal sensory nuclei to determine the position of retrogradely labeled cortical cells with respect to S1 barrel cortex. Our results demonstrate that S1 and S2 projections terminate in largely overlapping regions but show some significant differences. Whereas S1 projection terminals tend to cluster within the principal trigeminal (Pr5), caudal spinal trigeminal interpolaris (Sp5ic), and the dorsal spinal trigeminal caudalis (Sp5c), S2 projection terminals are distributed in a continuum across all trigeminal nuclei. Contrary to the view that sensory gating could be mediated by differential activation of inhibitory interconnections between the spinal trigeminal subnuclei, we observed that projections from S1 and S2 are largely overlapping in these subnuclei despite the differences noted earlier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared B Smith
- Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA, USA ; Center for Neural Engineering, Huck Institute of Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA, USA
| | - Glenn D R Watson
- Center for Neural Engineering, Huck Institute of Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA, USA ; Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine Hershey, PA, USA
| | - Kevin D Alloway
- Center for Neural Engineering, Huck Institute of Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA, USA ; Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine Hershey, PA, USA
| | - Cornelius Schwarz
- Department of Cognitive Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany ; Systems Neurophysiology, Werner Reichardt Center for Integrative Neurosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany
| | - Shubhodeep Chakrabarti
- Department of Cognitive Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany ; Systems Neurophysiology, Werner Reichardt Center for Integrative Neurosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany
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