RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Brainstem somatostatin-expressing cells control the emotional regulation of pain behavior
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2022.01.20.476899
DO 10.1101/2022.01.20.476899
A1 Nanci Winke
A1 Frank Aby
A1 Daniel Jercog
A1 Grivet Zoé
A1 Delphine Girard
A1 Marc Landry
A1 Laia Castell
A1 Emmanuel Valjent
A1 Stephane Valerio
A1 Pascal Fossat
A1 Cyril Herry
YR 2022
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/01/22/2022.01.20.476899.abstract
AB In mammals, threat-related behavior is typically induced by a noxious physical stressor and is associated with a broad range of behavioral responses such as freezing and avoidance. These behavioral responses are associated with the regulation of pain responses allowing individuals to cope with noxious stimuli. Whereas the structures and mechanisms involved in pain behavior are well documented, little is known about the precise neuronal circuits mediating the emotional regulation of pain behavior. Here we used a combination of behavioral, anatomical, optogenetic, and electrophysiological approaches to show that somatostatin-expressing neurons in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray matter (vlPAG SST cells) promote antinociceptive responses during the presentation of conditioned stimuli (CS) predicting footshocks. Whereas the optogenetic inhibition of vlPAG SST cells during CS presentation promoted analgesia, their optogenetic activation reduced analgesia by potentiating pain responses in the spinal cord through a relay in the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM). Together these results identify a brainstem circuit composed of vlPAG SST cells specifically projecting to the RVM and mediating fear conditioned analgesia (FCA) to regulate pain responses during threatful situations.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.