Functional dissection of neural populations in the lateral parabrachial nucleus

Abstract

The lateral parabrachial nucleus resides next to the superior cerebellar peduncle in the pons. Classical anatomical and pharmacological studies have implicated the lateral parabrachial nucleus in numerous homeostatic functions such as fluid regulation, blood glucose regulation, thermoregulation, respiration, baroreception, gustatory sensing, nociception and cortical activation. However, given the heterogenous nature of the nucleus, precise genetic separation to disentangle the roles of different groups of neurons within it has been lacking. The aim of these studies was to use genetic tools to functionally segregate groups of neurons within the lateral parabrachial nucleus