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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mol. Neurosci.
Sec. Pain Mechanisms and Modulators
Volume 17 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2024.1405532
This article is part of the Research Topic Editors' Showcase: Pain Mechanisms and Modulators View all 3 articles

Coordination between midcingulate cortex and retrosplenial cortex in pain regulation

Provisionally accepted
Yunya Qiu Yunya Qiu 1,2Cheng Wu Cheng Wu 2Li Liu Li Liu 3Chen Zhang Chen Zhang 4*Xiang-Yao LI Xiang-Yao LI 2,5*
  • 1 Brain Research Institute, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Graduate School, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 2 International Institutes of Medicine, Fourth Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Yiwu, China
  • 3 Core Facilities, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 4 Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 5 Frontiers Science Center for Brain and Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Based on the structural and circuitry variances, the cingulate cortex is segmented into distinct subregions, comprising the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), midcingulate cortex (MCC), and retrosplenial cortices (RSC) in rodents, all of which play a role in pain regulation. However, the interactions among these cingulate subregions for pain sensation remain elusive. Here, we employed the chemogenetic approaches to investigate the interactions between the MCC and RSC and their roles in pain regulation. Our findings reveal that the elevation of neurons' activities in either the RSC or MCC chemogenetically heightens pain sensitivity. While suppressing neuronal activity in the MCC disrupts the RSC's regulation of mechanical and thermal sensation. Conversely, inhibiting the neuronal activity in the RSC disrupts the MCC's regulation of thermal, but not mechanical sensation. Our observations suggest that the MCC might govern the RSC's pain regulatory mechanisms, with the RSC being crucial for the MCC's control over thermal sensation. Hence, it appears that the MCC and RSC collaborate in pain regulation.

    Keywords: Chemogenetic approach, Pain regulation, Aversion, neuropathic pain, MCC, RSC

    Received: 23 Mar 2024; Accepted: 15 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Qiu, Wu, Liu, Zhang and LI. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Chen Zhang, Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
    Xiang-Yao LI, Frontiers Science Center for Brain and Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, Jiangsu Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.