1
|
Wang Q, Mei Y, Tao Y, Ao J, Zhang Z, Yuan J, Hong X, Zeng F, Jin Z. Functional connectivity characteristics of the brain network involved in prickle perception of single fiber stimulation. Skin Res Technol 2024; 30:e13626. [PMID: 38385847 PMCID: PMC10883244 DOI: 10.1111/srt.13626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The complex network connections, information transmission and organization play key roles in brain cognition on sensory stimulation. Previous studies showed that several brain regions of somatosensory, motor, emotional, cognitive, etc. are linked to fabric-evoked prickle. But the functional connectivity characteristics of the brain network involved in prickle perception is still unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS In the present study, resting state fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) with functional connectivity analysis was adopted to build the initial brain functional network, and task fMRI with psychophysiological interaction analysis was employed to investigate modulation features of prickling task to functional connections in the brain network. RESULTS The results showed that, in resting state, six groups or sub-networks can be identified in the prickle network, and when the subjects performed the prickling task, functional connectivity strength between some seed regions (e.g., somatosensory regions and precuneus, emotional regions and the prefrontal cortex, etc.) in the network increased. CONCLUSION Combining resting-state fMRI with task fMRI is a feasible and promising method to study functional connectivity characteristics of the brain network involved in prickle perception. It is inferred that the "itch" ingredient of prickle sensation was transmitted from somatosensory cortices to precuneus, and emotional attribute (e.g., pain) from somatosensory cortices to the prefrontal cortex and at last to emotional regions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qicai Wang
- College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk), Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yonghao Mei
- College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk), Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yuan Tao
- High Fashion Womenswear Institute, Hangzhou Vocational and Technical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jiayu Ao
- College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk), Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhongwei Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Jie Yuan
- Clothing Engineering Research Center of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xinghua Hong
- College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk), Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fangmeng Zeng
- College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk), Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zimin Jin
- College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk), Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Mayorova L, Portnova G, Skorokhodov I. Cortical Response Variation with Social and Non-Social Affective Touch Processing in the Glabrous and Hairy Skin of the Leg: A Pilot fMRI Study. Sensors (Basel) 2023; 23:7881. [PMID: 37765936 PMCID: PMC10538157 DOI: 10.3390/s23187881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Despite the crucial role of touch in social development and its importance for social interactions, there has been very little functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research on brain mechanisms underlying social touch processing. Moreover, there has been very little research on the perception of social touch in the lower extremities in humans, even though this information could expand our understanding of the mechanisms of the c-tactile system. Here, variations in the neural response to stimulation by social and non-social affective leg touch were investigated using fMRI. Participants were subjected to slow a (at 3-5 cm/s) stroking social touch (hand, skin-to-skin) and a non-social touch (peacock feather) to the hairy skin of the shin and to the glabrous skin of the foot sole. Stimulation of the glabrous skin of the foot sole, regardless of the type of stimulus, elicited a much more widespread cortical response, including structures such as the medial segment of precentral gyri, left precentral gyrus, bilateral putamen, anterior insula, left postcentral gyrus, right thalamus, and pallidum. Stimulation of the hairy skin of the shin elicited a relatively greater response in the left middle cingulate gyrus, left angular gyrus, left frontal eye field, bilateral anterior prefrontal cortex, and left frontal pole. Activation of brain structures, some of which belong to the "social brain"-the pre- and postcentral gyri bilaterally, superior and middle occipital gyri bilaterally, left middle and superior temporal gyri, right anterior cingulate gyrus and caudate, left middle and inferior frontal gyri, and left lateral ventricle area, was associated with the perception of non-social stimuli in the leg. The left medial segment of pre- and postcentral gyri, left postcentral gyrus and precuneus, bilateral parietal operculum, right planum temporale, left central operculum, and left thalamus proper showed greater activation for social tactile touch. There are regions in the cerebral cortex that responded specifically to hand and feather touch in the foot sole region. These areas included the posterior insula, precentral gyrus; putamen, pallidum and anterior insula; superior parietal cortex; transverse temporal gyrus and parietal operculum, supramarginal gyrus and planum temporale. Subjective assessment of stimulus ticklishness was related to activation of the left cuneal region. Our results make some contribution to understanding the physiology of the perception of social and non-social tactile stimuli and the CT system, including its evolution, and they have clinical impact in terms of environmental enrichment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Larisa Mayorova
- Laboratory of Physiology of Sensory Systems, Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of Russian Academy of Science, 117485 Moscow, Russia
- Laboratory for the Study of Tactile Communication, Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, 117485 Moscow, Russia
| | - Galina Portnova
- Laboratory for the Study of Tactile Communication, Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, 117485 Moscow, Russia
- Laboratory of Human Higher Nervous Activity, Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of Russian Academy of Science, 117485 Moscow, Russia
| | - Ivan Skorokhodov
- Laboratory for the Study of Tactile Communication, Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, 117485 Moscow, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Wang Q, Tao Y, Sun T, Yuan J, Ao J, Hong X, Jin Z, Zeng F, Lei Y. Comparison of brain functional response to mechanical prickling stimuli to the glabrous and hairy skin. Skin Res Technol 2023; 29:e13446. [PMID: 37753684 PMCID: PMC10460934 DOI: 10.1111/srt.13446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A kind of prickle sensation, which is a composite feeling of pain and itch, can be evoked by mechanical stimulation of fiber ends from fabric surface against to human hairy skin, rather than glabrous skin. Now, a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was conducted to investigate the cognitive differences in the brain for mechanical prickling stimuli to the two types of skin. MATERIALS AND METHODS A nylon filament with the diameter of 205 μm and the length of 8 mm was used to deliver mechanical prickling stimuli respectively to two skin sites, fingertip (glabrous skin) and volar forearm (hairy skin), of eight healthy male subjects. Simultaneously, the technology of fMRI was adopted to acquire BOLD (Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent) signals of brain functional response of the subjects. RESULTS Somatosensory areas, emotional areas, and the posterior parietal cortex (especially the precuneus) are important brain regions that distinguish between the two conditions. The representation of mechanical prickling stimulation to glabrous skin in the brain favors much more the tactile information of the stimulation and contains no itch, while the key brain area, precuneus, involved in itch was activated by the same mechanical prickling stimulation to hairy skin, and brain response for the condition of hairy skin contains more emotional information, which plays an important role in pain processing. CONCLUSION Therefore, it can be inferred that a kind of stronger prickle sensation, which contains both pain and itch, was evoked by mechanical stimulation to hairy skin than glabrous skin.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qicai Wang
- College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk)Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang ProvinceZhejiang Sci‐Tech UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Yuan Tao
- High Fashion Womenswear InstituteHangzhou Vocational and Technical CollegeHangzhouZhejiangChina
| | - Tao Sun
- Department of RadiologyThe First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Jie Yuan
- Clothing Engineering Research Center of Zhejiang ProvinceZhejiang Sci‐Tech UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Jiayu Ao
- College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk)Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang ProvinceZhejiang Sci‐Tech UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Xinghua Hong
- College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk)Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang ProvinceZhejiang Sci‐Tech UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Zimin Jin
- College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk)Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang ProvinceZhejiang Sci‐Tech UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Fangmeng Zeng
- College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk)Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang ProvinceZhejiang Sci‐Tech UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Yutian Lei
- College of Education ScienceQuanzhou Normal UniversityFujianChina
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Bernal Sierra YA, Haseleu J, Kozlenkov A, Bégay V, Lewin GR. Genetic Tracing of Ca v3.2 T-Type Calcium Channel Expression in the Peripheral Nervous System. Front Mol Neurosci 2017; 10:70. [PMID: 28360836 PMCID: PMC5350092 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2017.00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 03/01/2017] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Characterizing the distinct functions of the T-type ion channel subunits Cav3.1, 3.2 or 3.3 has proven difficult due to their highly conserved amino-acid sequences and the lack of pharmacological blockers specific for each subunit. To precisely determine the expression pattern of the Cav3.2 channel in the nervous system we generated two knock-in mouse strains that express EGFP or Cre recombinase under the control of the Cav3.2 gene promoter. We show that in the brains of these animals, the Cav3.2 channel is predominantly expressed in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. In the peripheral nervous system, the activation of the promoter starts at E9.5 in neural crest cells that will give rise to dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons, but not sympathetic neurons. As development progresses the number of DRG cells expressing the Cav3.2 channel reaches around 7% of the DRG at E16.5, and remains constant until E18.5. Characterization of sensory neuron subpopulations at E18.5 showed that EGFP+ cells are a heterogeneous population consisting mainly of TrkB+ and TrkC+ cells, while only a small percentage of DRG cells were TrkA+. Genetic tracing of the sensory nerve end-organ innervation of the skin showed that the activity of the Cav3.2 channel promoter in sensory progenitors marks many mechanoreceptor and nociceptor endings, but spares slowly adapting mechanoreceptors with endings associated with Merkel cells. Our genetic analysis reveals for the first time that progenitors that express the Cav3.2 T-type calcium channel, defines a sensory specific lineage that populates a large proportion of the DRG. Using our Cav3.2-Cre mice together with AAV viruses containing a conditional fluorescent reporter (tdTomato) we could also show that Cre expression is largely restricted to two functionally distinct sensory neuron types in the adult ganglia. Cav3.2 positive neurons innervating the skin were found to only form lanceolate endings on hair follicles and are probably identical to D-hair receptors. A second population of nociceptive sensory neurons expressing the Cav3.2 gene was found to be positive for the calcitonin-gene related peptide but these neurons are deep tissue nociceptors that do not innervate the skin.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yinth A Bernal Sierra
- Department of Neuroscience, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin, Germany
| | - Julia Haseleu
- Department of Neuroscience, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin, Germany
| | - Alexey Kozlenkov
- Department of Neuroscience, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin, Germany
| | - Valérie Bégay
- Department of Neuroscience, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin, Germany
| | - Gary R Lewin
- Department of Neuroscience, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
Intact and injured cutaneous C-fibers in the rat sural nerve are cold sensitive, heat sensitive, and/or mechanosensitive. Cold-sensitive fibers are either low-threshold type 1 cold sensitive or high-threshold type 2 cold sensitive. The hypothesis was tested, in intact and injured afferent nerve fibers, that low-threshold cold-sensitive afferent nerve fibers are activated by the transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) agonist menthol, whereas high-threshold cold-sensitive C-fibers and cold-insensitive afferent nerve fibers are menthol insensitive. In anesthetized rats, activity was recorded from afferent nerve fibers in strands isolated from the sural nerve, which was either intact or crushed 6-12 days before the experiment distal to the recording site. In all, 77 functionally identified afferent C-fibers (30 intact fibers, 47 injured fibers) and 34 functionally characterized A-fibers (11 intact fibers, 23 injured fibers) were tested for their responses to menthol applied to their receptive fields either in the skin (10 or 20%) or in the nerve (4 or 8 mM). Menthol activated all intact (n = 12) and 90% of injured (n = 20/22) type 1 cold-sensitive C-fibers; it activated no intact type 2 cold-sensitive C-fibers (n = 7) and 1/11 injured type 2 cold-sensitive C-fibers. Neither intact nor injured heat- and/or mechanosensitive cold-insensitive C-fibers (n = 25) and almost no A-fibers (n = 2/34) were activated by menthol. These results strongly argue that cutaneous type 1 cold-sensitive afferent fibers are nonnociceptive cold fibers that use the TRPM8 transduction channel.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alina Teliban
- Physiologisches Institut, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany; and
| | - Fabian Bartsch
- Physiologisches Institut, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany; and
| | - Marek Struck
- Physiologisches Institut, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany; and
| | - Ralf Baron
- Division of Neurological Pain Research and Therapy, Department of Neurology, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Wilfrid Jänig
- Physiologisches Institut, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany; and
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Ringkamp M, Peng YB, Wu G, Hartke TV, Campbell JN, Meyer RA. Capsaicin responses in heat-sensitive and heat-insensitive A-fiber nociceptors. J Neurosci 2001; 21:4460-8. [PMID: 11404433 PMCID: PMC6762753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The recently cloned vanilloid receptor (VR1) is postulated to account for heat and capsaicin sensitivity in unmyelinated afferents. We sought to determine whether heat and capsaicin sensitivity also coexist in myelinated nociceptive afferents. Action potential (AP) activity was recorded from single A-fiber nociceptors that innervated the hairy skin in monkey. Before intradermal injection of capsaicin (10 microg/10 microl) into the receptive field, nociceptors were classified as heat-sensitive (threshold, </=53 degrees C, 1 sec) or heat-insensitive afferents and as mechanically sensitive (von Frey threshold, <6 bar) or mechanically insensitive afferents. All heat-sensitive afferents (n = 16) were insensitive to mechanical stimuli but responded to the intradermal injection of capsaicin (69 +/- 7 APs in 10 min). Responsiveness to mechanical stimuli, thermal stimuli, and capsaicin varied in their receptive fields; the majority of receptive field sites (24 of 36) were responsive to only one or two stimulus modalities, whereas only eight sites responded to all three modalities. For most heat-insensitive afferents, the activity induced by the capsaicin injection did not exceed the activity induced by needle insertion alone. However, the largest response to capsaicin (314 +/- 98 APs in 10 min) was observed for five afferents that were insensitive to heat as well as mechanical stimuli and therefore may be classified as cutaneous chemoreceptors. These results suggest that A-fiber nociceptors play a role in the pain and hyperalgesia associated with capsaicin injection. Our finding that a subgroup of capsaicin-sensitive A-fiber nociceptors are insensitive to heat predicts the existence of heat-insensitive capsaicin receptors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Ringkamp
- Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|