The secondary somatosensory cortex gates mechanical and heat sensitivity

Authors
Taub, Daniel G., Jiang, Qiufen, Pietrafesa, Francesca, Su, Junfeng, Carroll, Aloe, Greene, Caitlin, Blanchard, Michael R., Jain, Aakanksha, El-Rifai, Mahmoud, Callen, Alexis, Yager, Katherine, Chung, Clara, He, Zhigang, Chen, Chinfei, Woolf, Clifford J.


Lab

Journal
Nature Communications

Abstract
The cerebral cortex is vital for the processing and perception of sensory stimuli. In the somatosensory axis, information is received primarily by two distinct regions, the primary (S1) and secondary (S2) somatosensory cortices. Top-down circuits stemming from S1 can modulate mechanical and cooling but not heat stimuli such that circuit inhibition causes blunted perception. This suggests that responsiveness to particular somatosensory stimuli occurs in a modality specific fashion and we sought to determine additional cortical substrates. In this work, we identify in a mouse model that inhibition of S2 output increases mechanical and heat, but not cooling sensitivity, in contrast to S1. Combining 2-photon anatomical reconstruction with chemogenetic inhibition of specific S2 circuits, we discover that S2 projections to the secondary motor cortex (M2) govern mechanical and heat sensitivity without affecting motor performance or anxiety. Taken together, we show that S2 is an essential cortical structure that governs mechanical and heat sensitivity. How and where somatosensory information is encoded in the cortex is unclear and important for developing new pain therapies. Here the authors show a crucial role for the secondary somatosensory cortex (S2) in accurate perception of sensory stimuli.

Keywords/Topics
secondary;somatosensory;cortex;gates;mechanical;sensitivity;cerebral;vital;processing;perception

BIOSEB Instruments Used:
Cold Hot Plate Test (BIO-CHP)

Source :

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45729-7

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