Neuronal Circuits that Modulate Pain and Defensive Responses

Update Item Information
Title Neuronal Circuits that Modulate Pain and Defensive Responses
Creator Douglass, A.D.
Subject Diffusion of Innovation; Pain; Pleasure-Pain Principle; Oxytocin; Neurotransmitter Agents; Axons; Motor Neurons; Brain Stem; Synaptic Transmission; Sensation; Zebrafish; Knowledge Discovery
Keyword Neuroscience
Image Caption The axons of oxytocin-producing neurons (cyan) interact with brainstem pre-motor neurons (magenta) that drive escape responses.
Description Understanding pain-processing mechanisms and the neural circuits involved is central to developing new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of pain. The Douglass lab investigated brain regions that modulate behavioral responses to noxious stimuli in zebrafish. They showed that oxytocin-producing neurons in the hypothalamus are central mediators of the behavioral response to pain, recruit targets in the brainstem that drive escape responses, and function as neuromodulators. This specialized sensorimotor circuit is essential for mediating defensive responses to pain- and injury-causing stimuli.
Relation is Part of 2019
Publisher Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah
Date Digital 2020
Date 2019
Type Image
Format image/jpeg
Rights Management Copyright © 2021, University of Utah, All Rights Reserved
Language eng
ARK ark:/87278/s67m5z1t
References 1.) Zebrafish oxytocin neurons drive nocifensive behavior via brainstem premotor targets. Wee CL, Nikitchenko M, Wang WC, Luks-Morgan SJ, Song E, Gagnon JA, Randlett O, Bianco IH, Lacoste AMB, Glushenkova E, Barrios, JP, Schier AF, Kunes S, Engert F, Douglass AD. Nat Neurosci. 2019 Sep;22(9):1477 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31358991/).
Press Releases and Media Oxytocin: An Interplay between Pleasure and Pain https://uofuhealth.utah.edu/newsroom/news/2019/07/oxytocin.php
Setname ehsl_50disc
ID 1589353
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s67m5z1t
Back to Search Results