A neural circuit for lavender-essential-oil-induced antinociception
Yumeng Yang,
Hao Huang,
Meng-Yu Zhu,
Hong-Rui Wei,
Mingjun Zhang,
Lan Tang,
Wei Gao,
Xinlu Yang,
Zhi Zhang,
Peng Cao,
Wenjuan Tao
Affiliations
Yumeng Yang
Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, College and Hospital of Stomatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
Hao Huang
Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, College and Hospital of Stomatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
Meng-Yu Zhu
Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, College and Hospital of Stomatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
Hong-Rui Wei
Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Mingjun Zhang
Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Lan Tang
Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Wei Gao
Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Xinlu Yang
Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Zhi Zhang
Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Center for Advance Interdisciplinary Science and Biomedicine of IHM, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Corresponding author
Peng Cao
Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Corresponding author
Wenjuan Tao
Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, College and Hospital of Stomatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Lavender essential oil (LEO) has been shown to relieve pain in humans, but the underlying neural mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we found that inhalation exposure to 0.1% LEO confers antinociceptive effects in mice with complete Freund adjuvant (CFA)-induced inflammatory pain through activation of projections from the anterior piriform cortex (aPir) to the insular cortex (IC). Specifically, in vivo fiber photometry recordings and viral tracing data show that glutamatergic projections from the aPir (aPirGlu) innervate GABAergic neurons in the IC (ICGABA) to inhibit local glutamatergic neurons (ICGlu) that are hyperactivated in inflammatory pain. Optogenetic or chemogenetic activation of this aPirGlu→ICGABA→Glu pathway can recapitulate the antinociceptive effects of LEO inhalation in CFA mice. Conversely, artificial inhibition of IC-projecting aPirGlu neurons abolishes LEO-induced antinociception. Our study thus depicts an LEO-responsive olfactory system circuit mechanism for alleviating inflammatory pain via aPir→IC neural connections, providing evidence to support development of aroma-based treatments for alleviating pain.
