小柯机器人

美国哈佛医学院Wade G. Regehr课题组发现浦肯野细胞(PCs)到臂旁核(PBN)通路使小脑对前脑的影响变得广泛。2023年11月2日出版的《自然—神经科学》杂志发表了这项成果。

他们发现，抑制小脑PC的放电会迅速刺激前脑负责这些功能的区域(包括杏仁核、基底前脑和中隔)，但经典的小脑输出，即小脑深部核，并不直接投射到那里。他们发现PCs直接抑制投射到许多前脑区域的PBN神经元。抑制PC-PBN通路会影响前脑的许多区域，并且是令人厌恶的。

分子分析表明，PC直接抑制多种类型的PBN神经元，这些神经元控制着不参与运动控制的多种行为。因此，PC-PBN通路允许小脑直接调节前脑的活动，可能是后蚓损伤引起小脑疾病的重要底物。

据悉，除了运动功能外，小脑还参与情绪调节、焦虑和情感。

附：英文原文

Title: A Purkinje cell to parabrachial nucleus pathway enables broad cerebellar influence over the forebrain

Author: Chen, Christopher H., Newman, Leannah N., Stark, Amanda P., Bond, Katherine E., Zhang, Dawei, Nardone, Stefano, Vanderburg, Charles R., Nadaf, Naeem M., Yao, Zhiyi, Mutume, Kefiloe, Flaquer, Isabella, Lowell, Bradford B., Macosko, Evan Z., Regehr, Wade G.

Issue&Volume: 2023-11-02

Abstract: In addition to its motor functions, the cerebellum is involved in emotional regulation, anxiety and affect. We found that suppressing the firing of cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) rapidly excites forebrain areas that contribute to such functions (including the amygdala, basal forebrain and septum), but that the classic cerebellar outputs, the deep cerebellar nuclei, do not directly project there. We show that PCs directly inhibit parabrachial nuclei (PBN) neurons that project to numerous forebrain regions. Suppressing the PC–PBN pathway influences many regions in the forebrain and is aversive. Molecular profiling shows that PCs directly inhibit numerous types of PBN neurons that control diverse behaviors that are not involved in motor control. Therefore, the PC–PBN pathway allows the cerebellum to directly regulate activity in the forebrain, and may be an important substrate for cerebellar disorders arising from damage to the posterior vermis.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01462-w

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-023-01462-w

Nature Neuroscience：《自然—神经科学》，创刊于1998年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：28.771
官方网址：https://www.nature.com/neuro/
投稿链接：https://mts-nn.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex