Dorsal raphe nucleus to pre-Bötzinger complex serotonergic neural circuit is involved in seizure-induced respiratory arrest
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Updated: Aug 24, 2025
Preparation of Rhythmically-active In Vitro Neonatal Rodent Brainstem-spinal Cord and Thin Slice
Published on: March 23, 2019
HaiXiang Ma1,2, Qian Yu1,2, Yue Shen1,2,3
1Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Abstract:
Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the leading cause of death among patients with epilepsy. However, the underlying mechanism of SUDEP remains elusive. Previous studies showed seizure-induced respiratory arrest (S-IRA) is the main factor in SUDEP, and that enhancement of serotonin (5-HT) function in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DR) can significantly reduce the incidence of S-IRA in the DBA/1 mouse model of SUDEP. The pre-Bötzinger complex (PBC), known for its role in regulating respiratory rhythm, can express the 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR). Here, using the pharmacological and optogenetic methods, respectively, we observed that the serotonergic neural circuit between DR and PBC was involved in S-IRA evoked by either acoustic stimulation or pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) injection in the DBA/1 mice, and found 5-HT2AR located in PBC plays an important role in it. Our findings will further significantly improve our understanding of SUDEP and provide a promising therapeutic target for SUDEP prevention.
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