Nat Neurosci: China University of Science and Technology and others make progress in pain-causing depression research

Recently, Zhang Zhi task force of the School of Life Sciences of the Chinese University of Science and Technology and the Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Brain Disease of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with Wang Kai and Tian Yanhua Research Group of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University and a number of research institutions, made research progress on the basis of neural loops in the behavior of chronic pain leading to depressionThe results were published online August 27 in Nature Neuroscience, using the results of the story of the neural a circuit for comorbid de syds in chronic painchronic pain, such as pathological nerve pain, cancer pain, migraine and back pain, is one of the most common conditions in theclinical, the pathogenesis is complex, the cause of the disease is often unknown and unpredictableFor persistent chronic pain, there are currently no good treatments and treatment sourcing options, as well as many emotional disorders, such as depression and anxiety (more than 50% of chronic pain patients exhibit depressive symptoms), forming a vicious cycle, the mechanism of which is not clearthe amygdala of the brain is involved in pain and emotionZhang Zhi's team found that the amygdala's outer amygdala neural loop was involved in the formation of obsessive-like anxiety behavior (PNAS, 2019)So does the amygdala, the amygdala's functional output subnuclear amethyst (CeA), act as a bridge in pain-depression co-disease? Therefore, the team targeted CeA's GABA energy neurons, reverse trans-single-stage virus tracing findings, the middle seam nucleus (DRN) in the 5-HT (5-HTDRN) neurons through the 5-HT1A receptor to dominate CeA growth inhibitor (SOM) energy neurons (SOMCeA)5-HT system disorder is one of the classic theories of depression, at present, theclinicalthe first line of antidepressant5-HT selective reuptake inhibitorises is to improve the brain 5-HT content to play an antidepressant effectDRN is the main nuclear group of brain synthesis 5-HT, involved in regulating pain and affective disordersFurther studies found that in mice with persistent pain and depressive-like behavior, the 5-HT neuronal activity of DRN projected to CeA decreased, resulting in a decrease in the 5-HT content in CeA, which ultimately led to the de-inhibition of SOMCeA neurons and excitementPhotogenetic or chemical genetic regulation 5-HTDRN-SOMCeA neuroloop activity can significantly improve pain and depression-like behaviorso, how does the desuppression activation of SOMCeA neurons affect the nuclear groups associated with depression downstream? The team studied the long-range projection fibers of SOMCeA neurons and found that there was a large distribution of SOMCeA nerve fibers in the outer reins (LHb) In recent years, LHb has been found to be critical in the development and treatment of depression The team found that SOMCeA neurons dominated LHb's activities by releasing glutamate and played a role in pain-associated depressive behavior the discovery has important foundation and clinical significance for analyzing the pathogenesis of persistent chronic pain and depression, and may provide non-drug treatment ideas for drug-insensitive patients, such as deep brain stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation Zhang Zhi Research Group postdoctoral dr Zhou Wenjie, associate researcher Jin Yan and doctoral students Zhu Xia and Meng Shu are co-first authors, Zhang Zhi is the author of the newsletter The study was funded by the Fund Committee, the Ministry of Science and Technology"973" program, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Class B pilot and the Government of China