Ventral zona incerta parvalbumin neurons modulate sensory-induced and stress-induced self-grooming via input-dependent mechanisms in mice
Junye Ge,
Pengfei Ren,
Biqing Tian,
Jiaqi Li,
Chuchu Qi,
Qiyi Huang,
Keke Ren,
Erling Hu,
Honghui Mao,
Ying Zang,
Shengxi Wu,
Qian Xue,
Wenting Wang
Affiliations
Junye Ge
Pain Research Center and Department of Physiology, Zhongshan Medical School, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road. 2, Guangzhou 510080, China; Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China
Pengfei Ren
Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China
Biqing Tian
Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China
Jiaqi Li
School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
Chuchu Qi
Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China
Qiyi Huang
Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China
Keke Ren
Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China
Erling Hu
Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China
Honghui Mao
Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China
Ying Zang
Pain Research Center and Department of Physiology, Zhongshan Medical School, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road. 2, Guangzhou 510080, China
Shengxi Wu
Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China
Qian Xue
Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China; Corresponding author
Wenting Wang
Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Self-grooming is an innate stereotyped behavior influenced by sense and emotion. It is considered an important characteristic in various disease models. However, the neural circuit mechanism underlying sensory-induced and emotion-driven self-grooming remains unclear. We found that the ventral zona incerta (Ziv) was activated during spontaneous self-grooming (SG), corn oil-induced sensory self-grooming (OG), and tail suspension-induced stress self-grooming (TG). Optogenetic excitation of Ziv parvalbumin (PV) neurons increased the duration of SG. Conversely, optogenetic inhibition of ZivPV neurons significantly reduced self-grooming in all three models. Furthermore, glutamatergic inputs from the primary sensory cortex activated the Ziv and contributed to OG. Activation of GABAergic inputs from the central amygdala to the Ziv increased SG, OG, and TG, potentially through local negative regulation of the Ziv. These findings suggest that the Ziv may play a crucial role in processing sensory and emotional information related to self-grooming, making it a potential target for regulating stereotyped behavior.
