Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2025
08:35
A Simple and Inexpensive Method for Determining Cold Sensitivity and Adaptation in Mice
Published on: March 17, 2015
14.9K
Spinal processing of cold information by Kcnip2 neurons
Haoyi Qiu1, Loïs Miraucourt1, Reza Sharif-Naeini1
1Department of Physiology, McGill University, 3655 Promenade Sir-William-Osler, Montreal, QC, Canada; Cell Information Systems Group, McGill University, 3649 Promenade Sir William Osler, Montreal, QC, Canada; Alan Edwards Center for Research on Pain, McGill University, 3775 University, Suite 100, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Neuron
|January 5, 2023
Summary
Researchers identified specific inhibitory interneurons crucial for processing cold sensory information in the spinal cord. This finding advances our understanding of thermoregulation and pain pathways.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Spinal Cord Physiology
- Sensory Processing
Background:
- The neural circuits responsible for processing peripheral cold stimuli within the spinal cord remain largely uncharacterized.
- Understanding these pathways is critical for deciphering the mechanisms of thermoregulation and cold-induced pain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify specific neuronal populations within the spinal cord that mediate the processing of cold sensory information.
- To elucidate the functional role of these identified neurons in cold perception and response.
Main Methods:
- Utilized advanced genetic techniques to target and manipulate specific interneuron populations in the spinal cord.
- Employed electrophysiological recordings and behavioral assays to assess the role of these interneurons in response to cold stimuli.
Main Results:
- Identified a distinct subset of inhibitory interneurons critical for relaying and modulating cold signals from the periphery.
- Demonstrated that these interneurons play an essential role in the central processing of cold inputs.
Conclusions:
- This study reveals a key component of the spinal cord's cold processing circuitry.
- The identified inhibitory interneurons are essential for normal cold sensation and may represent a therapeutic target for related disorders.
Related Concept Videos
01:43Thermosensation
31.0K
Peripheral thermosensation is the perception of external temperature. A change in temperature (on the surface of the skin and other tissues) is detected by a family of temperature-sensitive ion channels called Transient Receptor Potential, or TRP, receptors. These receptors are located on free nerve endings. Those detecting cold temperatures are closer to the surface of the skin than the nerve endings detecting warmth. These thermoTRP channels, while temperature selective, have relatively...
31.0K
01:19The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation
3.3K
A postsynaptic neuron usually receives numerous impulses from several other presynaptic neurons. The axon hillock of the postsynaptic neuron integrates all these signals and determines the likelihood of firing an action potential.
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....
3.3K
01:44Nociception
28.3K
Nociception—the ability to feel pain—is essential for an organism’s survival and overall well-being. Noxious stimuli such as piercing pain from a sharp object, heat from an open flame, or contact with corrosive chemicals are first detected by sensory receptors, called nociceptors, located on nerve endings. Nociceptors express ion channels that convert noxious stimuli into electrical signals. When these signals reach the brain via sensory neurons, they are perceived as pain.
28.3K
01:10Spinal Cord: Information Processing
1.5K
The spinal cord is an integral hub for motor and sensory information that enables the brain to communicate with the peripheral nervous system (PNS). This communication consists of relaying sensory data and transmission of motor commands.
Sensory Information Processing
Sensory information processing begins at the sensory receptors located in the skin and other tissues, which detect somatic sensory stimuli such as touch, temperature, or pain. These receptors function as catalysts, initiating...
Sensory Information Processing
Sensory information processing begins at the sensory receptors located in the skin and other tissues, which detect somatic sensory stimuli such as touch, temperature, or pain. These receptors function as catalysts, initiating...
1.5K
01:12Mechanically-gated Ion Channels
6.5K
Mechanically-gated ion channels are proteins found in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell membranes that open in response to mechanical stress. Tension, compression, swelling, and shear stress can alter the conformation of the protein, opening a transmembrane channel that allows the passage of ions for signal transmission. In eukaryotes, mechanically-gated channels are distributed in several regions like the neurons, lungs, skin, bladder, and heart, where they play critical roles in numerous...
6.5K
01:28Major Somatic Sensory Pathways
1.1K
Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the...
1.1K