| First Author | Zhou W | Year | 2019 |
| Journal | Nat Neurosci | Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 10 | Pages | 1649-1658 |
| PubMed ID | 31451801 | Mgi Jnum | J:359401 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6378293 | Doi | 10.1038/s41593-019-0468-2 |
| Citation | Zhou W, et al. (2019) A neural circuit for comorbid depressive symptoms in chronic pain. Nat Neurosci 22(10):1649-1658 |
| abstractText | Comorbid depressive symptoms (CDS) in chronic pain are a common health problem, but the neural circuit mechanisms underlying these symptoms remain unclear. Here we identify a novel pathway involving 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) projections from the dorsal raphe nucleus (5-HT(DRN)) to somatostatin (SOM)-expressing and non-SOM interneurons in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). The SOM(CeA) neurons project directly to the lateral habenula, an area known involved in depression. Inhibition of the 5-HT(DRN)-->SOM(CeA) pathway produced depression-like behavior in a male mouse model of chronic pain. Activation of this pathway using pharmacological or optogenetic approaches reduced depression-like behavior in these mice. Human functional magnetic resonance imaging data showed that compared to healthy controls, functional connectivity between the CeA-containing centromedial amygdala and the DRN was reduced in patients with CDS but not in patients in chronic pain without depression. These findings indicate that a novel 5-HT(DRN)-->SOM(CeA)-->lateral habenula pathway may mediate at least some aspects of CDS. |
