Control of trigeminal touch sensory circuit assembly

啮齿动物使用胡须作为它们的主要触觉传感器。单个胡须被一种 位于三叉神经节的一组触摸感觉神经元，并被映射到 大脑由来自同一组三叉神经细胞的中央轴突组成。胡须的发现- 相关的大型模块化结构(后脑中的桶状结构，丘脑中的Barreloid和 皮质中的桶)在20世纪70年代使三叉神经-胡须系统成为流行的原型模型 研究体感地图和触觉回路。然而到目前为止，我们仍然有有限的 每个胡须代表单元内部组装的精确神经电路的知识。这个 这个提案的目的是剖析由不同类型的触摸形成的微电路 个体桶内感觉神经元，并开始识别分子机制 控制着这些筒状电路的精确组装。这些研究将提供更多- 了解体感信息编码和编码所需的知识 加工和最终的感官知觉。这项研究中发现的机制也将 对于理解与异常相关的神经病理疾病具有广泛的意义 躯体感觉系统的连线，如自闭症和神经性口面部疼痛。

Rodents use whiskers as their primary tactile sensors. Individual whiskers are innervated by a group of touch sensory neurons located in the trigeminal ganglion, and are mapped onto the brain by the central axons from the same set of trigeminal neurons. The discovery of the whisker- related large modular structures (barrelettes in the hindbrain, barreloids in the thalamus and barrels in the cortex) in 1970s made the trigeminal-whisker system a popular prototypic model for studying somatosensory maps and touch sensory circuits. Yet to date, we still have limited knowledge of the precise neural circuits assembled inside each whisker-representing unit. The objective of this proposal is to dissect the micro-circuits formed by different classes of touch sensory neurons within individual barrelettes, and to begin to identify the molecular mechanisms controlling the precise assembly of these barrelette circuits. These studies will provide the much- needed knowledge for future understanding of somatosensory information coding and processing and ultimately sensory perception. The mechanisms uncovered in this study will also have broad implications for understanding neuropathological diseases associated with abnormal wiring in the somatosensory system such as Autism and neuropathic orofacial pain.