The cellular and synaptic architecture of the mechanosensory dorsal horn

• Victoria E. Abraira ^[1] ; Emily D. Kuehn ^[1] ; Anda M. Chirila ^[1]
  1. [1] Harvard Medical School

     Harvard Medical School

     City of Boston, Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: Cell, ISSN 0092-8674, Vol. 168, Nº. 1-2, 2017, págs. 295-310
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • The deep dorsal horn is a poorly characterized spinal cord region implicated in processing low-threshold mechanoreceptor (LTMR) information. We report an array of mouse genetic tools for defining neuronal components and functions of the dorsal horn LTMR-recipient zone (LTMR-RZ), a role for LTMR-RZ processing in tactile perception, and the basic logic of LTMR-RZ organization. We found an unexpectedly high degree of neuronal diversity in the LTMR-RZ: seven excitatory and four inhibitory subtypes of interneurons exhibiting unique morphological, physiological, and synaptic properties. Remarkably, LTMRs form synapses on between four and 11 LTMR-RZ interneuron subtypes, while each LTMR-RZ interneuron subtype samples inputs from at least one to three LTMR classes, as well as spinal cord interneurons and corticospinal neurons. Thus, the LTMR-RZ is a somatosensory processing region endowed with a neuronal complexity that rivals the retina and functions to pattern the activity of ascending touch pathways that underlie tactile perception.