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。个别胡须是由一个 位于三叉神经节的触觉感觉神经元组，并映射到 大脑的中枢轴突来自同一组三叉神经元。触须的发现- 相关的大型模块化结构（后脑中的barrettettes，丘脑中的barreloids， 在20世纪70年代，三叉神经须系统成为一种流行的原型模型， 研究躯体感觉地图和触觉回路。然而，到目前为止，我们仍然有有限的 了解每个胡须代表单元内部组装的精确神经回路。的 本提案的目的是剖析由不同类别的触摸形成的微电路 感觉神经元内的个别barbettes，并开始，以确定分子机制 控制着这些条形电路的精确装配。这些研究将提供许多- 为将来理解体感信息编码所需的知识， 处理和最终的感官知觉。这项研究中发现的机制也将 对理解与异常神经病变相关的神经病理性疾病具有广泛的意义， 在躯体感觉系统中的布线，如自闭症和神经性口面疼痛。

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.