The Parabrachial Nucleus: CGRP Neurons Function as a General Alarm - PubMed (original) (raw)

Review

The Parabrachial Nucleus: CGRP Neurons Function as a General Alarm

Richard D Palmiter. Trends Neurosci. 2018 May.

Abstract

The parabrachial nucleus (PBN), which is located in the pons and is dissected by one of the major cerebellar output tracks, is known to relay sensory information (visceral malaise, taste, temperature, pain, itch) to forebrain structures including the thalamus, hypothalamus, and extended amygdala. The availability of mouse lines expressing Cre recombinase selectively in subsets of PBN neurons and viruses for Cre-dependent gene expression is beginning to reveal the connectivity and functions of PBN component neurons. This review focuses on PBN neurons expressing calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRPPBN) that play a major role in regulating appetite and transmitting real or potential threat signals to the extended amygdala. The functions of other specific PBN neuronal populations are also discussed. This review aims to encourage investigation of the numerous unanswered questions that are becoming accessible.

Keywords: anorexia; calcium imaging; fear and taste conditioning; threats.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The author declares no conflicts of interest related to this review.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Location of parabrachial CGRP-expressing neurons that function as a general alarm. A. Cartoon sagittal section of mouse brain showing the approximate locations of CGRP neurons in the parabrachial nucleus (PBN), their inputs from the spinal cord and the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) where CCK- and DBH-expressing neurons reside, and their axonal projections to the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and the oval region of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). All of these neurons are excitatory (glutamatergic, black) except for the inhibitory input from AgRP-expressing neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) which are GABAergic (blue). The cerebellum (Cb) and cortex (Ctx) shown for reference. B. Coronal section of mouse brain showing expression of a fluorescent protein (white) in CGRP neurons (left side). The PBN has many subdivisions [4], the lateral region (L) that includes the external lateral subdivision where CGRP neurons reside, the medial region (M), the waist region that includes the superior cerebellar peduncle fibers (dark region between L and M), and adjacent lateral crest and Kölliker-Fuse regions (KF). Scale bar (bottom left): 1mm. Panel A drawn by the author; Panel B provided by Jane Chen.

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