Downstream projection of Barrington’s nucleus to the spinal cord in mice

Kawatani, Masahiro; Groat, William C. de; Itoi, Keiichi; Uchida, Katsuya; Sakimura, Kenji; Yamanaka, Akihiro; Yamashita, Takayuki; Kawatani, Masahito

doi:10.1152/jn.00026.2021

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…In animal 2, excluded from quantifications due to bilateral presence of estimated starter cells, we found traced cells in the same brain regions as the other animals, and in addition, we identified nine cells in the Barrington nucleus involved in micturition. The other animals did not contain any cells in this nucleus, thus, a possible explanation is the more caudal site of the injection in the S1 segment for animal 2, where projections from the Barrington nuclei are known to terminate (Kawatani et al., 2021 ; Verstegen et al., 2017 ). For all animals, we did not observe traced cells in nuclei of other descending tracts in the hypothalamus, prethalamus, midbrain, pons, and medulla.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Adult spinal Dmrt3 neurons receive direct somatosensory inputs from ipsi‐ and contralateral primary afferents and from brainstem motor nuclei

Vieillard

Franck

Hartung

et al. 2022

J of Comparative Neurology

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In the spinal cord, sensory‐motor circuits controlling motor activity are situated in the dorso–ventral interface. The neurons identified by the expression of the transcription factor Doublesex and mab‐3 related transcription factor 3 (Dmrt3) have previously been associated with the coordination of locomotion in horses (Equus caballus, Linnaeus, 1758), mice (Mus musculus, Linnaeus, 1758), and zebrafish (Danio rerio, F. Hamilton, 1822). Based on earlier studies, we hypothesized that, in mice, these neurons may be positioned to receive sensory and central inputs to relay processed commands to motor neurons. Thus, we investigated the presynaptic inputs to spinal Dmrt3 neurons using monosynaptic retrograde replication‐deficient rabies tracing. The analysis showed that lumbar Dmrt3 neurons receive inputs from intrasegmental neurons, and intersegmental neurons from the cervical, thoracic, and sacral segments. Some of these neurons belong to the excitatory V2a interneurons and to plausible Renshaw cells, defined by the expression of Chx10 and calbindin, respectively. We also found that proprioceptive primary sensory neurons of type Ia2, Ia3, and Ib, defined by the expression of calbindin, calretinin, and Brn3c, respectively, provide presynaptic inputs to spinal Dmrt3 neurons. In addition, we demonstrated that Dmrt3 neurons receive inputs from brain areas involved in motor regulation, including the red nucleus, primary sensory–motor cortex, and pontine nuclei. In conclusion, adult spinal Dmrt3 neurons receive inputs from motor‐related brain areas as well as proprioceptive primary sensory neurons and have been shown to connect directly to motor neurons. Dmrt3 neurons are thus positioned to provide sensory–motor control and their connectivity is suggestive of the classical reflex pathways present in the spinal cord.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Adult spinal Dmrt3 neurons receive direct somatosensory inputs from ipsi‐ and contralateral primary afferents and from brainstem motor nuclei

Vieillard

Franck

Hartung

et al. 2022

J of Comparative Neurology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Interestingly, we have recently discovered the presence of a descending system of neurons that express the neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in the sea lamprey brain [34] . CRH is a neuropeptide of interest in the SCI context because descending CRH projections from the Barrington’s nucleus (pontine micturition center) to the spinal cord control micturition behavior in mammals [35] , [36] . Specifically, CRH from Barrington’s nucleus spinal cord-projecting neurons inhibits micturition [36] , [37] , [38] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%