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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

In Vivo Calcium Imaging of Neuronal Ensembles in Networks of Primary Sensory Neurons in Intact Dorsal Root Ganglia
Published on: February 10, 2023
Neurons in the human thalamic somatosensory nucleus (Ventralis caudalis) respond to innocuous cool and mechanical
1Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, 21287-7713, USA.
Abstract:
A population of neurons in the principal somatosensory nucleus of human thalamus (ventralis caudalis, Vc) had a significant tonic, graded response to cool stimuli and also responded to innocuous mechanical stimuli (mechanical-cool neurons). These neurons were clustered at the dorsal aspect of medial Vc. Stimulation at the sites where these neurons were recorded evoked tingling sensations in the part of the body including or adjacent to the receptive field of these neurons. These neurons may contribute to the mechanism that mediates the perception of cold in man.
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