| First Author | Emanuel AJ | Year | 2021 |
| Journal | Nature | Volume | 600 |
| Issue | 7890 | Pages | 680-685 |
| PubMed ID | 34789880 | Mgi Jnum | J:349378 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7287972 | Doi | 10.1038/s41586-021-04094-x |
| Citation | Emanuel AJ, et al. (2021) Cortical responses to touch reflect subcortical integration of LTMR signals. Nature 600(7890):680-685 |
| abstractText | Current models to explain how signals emanating from cutaneous mechanoreceptors generate representations of touch are based on comparisons of the tactile responses of mechanoreceptor subtypes and neurons in somatosensory cortex(1-8). Here we used mouse genetic manipulations to investigate the contributions of peripheral mechanoreceptor subtypes to cortical responses to touch. Cortical neurons exhibited remarkably homogeneous and transient responses to skin indentation that resembled rapidly adapting (RA) low-threshold mechanoreceptor (LTMR) responses. Concurrent disruption of signals from both Abeta RA-LTMRs and Abeta slowly adapting (SA)-LTMRs eliminated cortical responses to light indentation forces. However, disruption of either LTMR subtype alone caused opposite shifts in cortical sensitivity but otherwise largely unaltered tactile responses, indicating that both subtypes contribute to normal cortical responses. Selective optogenetic activation of single action potentials in Abeta RA-LTMRs or Abeta SA-LTMRs drove low-latency responses in most mechanically sensitive cortical neurons. Similarly, most somatosensory thalamic neurons were also driven by activation of Abeta RA-LTMRs or Abeta SA-LTMRs. These findings support a model in which signals from physiologically distinct mechanoreceptor subtypes are extensively integrated and transformed within the subcortical somatosensory system to generate cortical representations of touch. |
