DREADDs: Lateral thalamic control of nociceptive response after whisker pad injection of varicella zoster virus
Thalamic neuronal activity was modulated after injecting an adeno-associated virus (AAV) expressing an engineered acetylcholine Gi-protein coupled receptor. This receptor inhibits neuronal firing when bound by clozapine -n- oxide (CNO). VGAT expression was attenuated in the thalamus by injecting an AAV construct that expressed a VGAT silencing shRNA. VZV induced nociception was significantly decreased after administering CNO in male rats. Nociception significantly increased concomitant with increased thalamic c-fos expression after attenuating thalamic VGAT expression. These data establish that the lateral thalamus (posterior, ventral posteromedial , ventral posterolateral and/or reticular thalamic nucleus) controls VZV induced nociception in the orofacial region, and that GABA in this region appears to reduce the response to VZV induced nociception possibly by gating facial pain Nice controls here: ...
