The parabrachial nuclei, also known as the parabrachial complex, are a group of nuclei in the dorsolateral

pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other bipeds lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of Va ...

that surrounds the superior cerebellar peduncle as it enters the brainstem from the cerebellum. They are named from the Latin term for the superior cerebellar peduncle, the ''brachium conjunctivum''. In the

human brain The human brain is the central organ (anatomy), organ of the human nervous system, and with the spinal cord makes up the central nervous system. The brain consists of the cerebrum, the brainstem and the cerebellum. It controls most of the act ...

, the expansion of the superior cerebellar peduncle expands the parabrachial nuclei, which form a thin strip of

grey matter Grey matter is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and unmyelinated axons), glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes), synapses, and capillaries. Grey matter is distingu ...

over most of the peduncle. The parabrachial nuclei are typically divided along the lines suggested by Baxter and Olszewski in humans, into a medial parabrachial nucleus and lateral parabrachial nucleus. These have in turn been subdivided into a dozen subnuclei: the superior, dorsal, ventral, internal, external and extreme lateral subnuclei; the lateral crescent and subparabrachial nucleus (Kolliker-Fuse nucleus) along the ventrolateral margin of the lateral parabrachial complex; and the medial and external medial subnuclei

Components

The main parabrachial nuclei are the medial parabrachial nucleus, the lateral parabrachial nucleus and the subparabrachial nucleus. The medial parabrachial nucleus is one of the three main nuclei in the parabrachial area at the junction of the

midbrain The midbrain or mesencephalon is the forward-most portion of the brainstem and is associated with vision, hearing, motor control, sleep and wakefulness, arousal (alertness), and temperature regulation. The name comes from the Greek ''mesos'', " ...

and the

. It relays information from the taste area of the

solitary nucleus In the human brainstem, the solitary nucleus, also called nucleus of the solitary tract, nucleus solitarius, and nucleus tractus solitarii, (SN or NTS) is a series of purely sensory nuclei (clusters of nerve cell bodies) forming a vertical column ...

to the

ventral posteromedial nucleus The ventral posteromedial nucleus (VPM) is a nucleus of the thalamus The thalamus (from Greek θάλαμος, "chamber") is a large mass of gray matter located in the dorsal part of the diencephalon (a division of the forebrain). Nerve f ...

of the

thalamus The thalamus (from Greek θάλαμος, "chamber") is a large mass of gray matter located in the dorsal part of the diencephalon (a division of the forebrain). Nerve fibers project out of the thalamus to the cerebral cortex in all directions, ...

. The lateral parabrachial nucleus is one of three main parabrachial nuclei, located at the junction of the

and pons. It receives information from the caudal

solitary tract The solitary tract (tractus solitarius, or fasciculus solitarius), is a compact fiber bundle that extends longitudinally through the posterolateral region of the medulla oblongata. The solitary tract is surrounded by the solitary nucleus, and des ...

and transmits signals mainly to the medial

hypothalamus The hypothalamus () is a part of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. The hypothalamu ...

but also to the lateral

and many of the nuclei targeted by the medial parabrachial nucleus. The subparabrachial nucleus, also known as the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus and diffuse reticular nucleus, is one of the three parabrachial nuclei between the

and the

. The subparabrachial nucleus regulates the

breathing rate The respiratory rate is the rate at which breathing occurs; it is set and controlled by the respiratory center of the brain. A person's respiratory rate is usually measured in breaths per minute. Measurement The respiratory rate in humans is me ...

. It receives signals from the caudal, cardio-respiratory part of the

and sends signals to the lower medulla oblongata, the

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...

, the

amygdala The amygdala (; plural: amygdalae or amygdalas; also '; Latin from Greek, , ', 'almond', 'tonsil') is one of two almond-shaped clusters of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum in complex verte ...

and the

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction * Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle * Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral co ...

. The parabrachial nuclei receive visceral afferent information from a variety of sources in the brainstem, including much input from the

, which brings

taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

information and information about the remainder of the body. The external, dorsal, internal and superior lateral subnuclei also receive input from the spinal and trigeminal dorsal horn, mainly concerned with pain and other visceral sensations. Outputs from the parabrachial nucleus originate from specific subnuclei and target forebrain sites involved in autonomic regulation, including the lateral hypothalamic area, ventromedial, dorsomedial, and arcuate hypothalamic nuclei, the median and lateral preoptic nuclei, the substantia innominate, the ventroposterior parvicellular and

intralaminar thalamic nuclei The intralaminar thalamic nuclei (ITN) are collections of neurons in the internal medullary lamina of the thalamus that are generally divided in two groups as follows:Mancall, E., Brock, D. & Gray, H. (2011). Gray's clinical neuroanatomy the anatom ...

, the central nucleus of the amygdala, and the insular and infralimbic cortex. The subparabrachialnucleus and lateral crescent send efferents to the nucleus of the solitary tract,

ventrolateral medulla The ventrolateral medulla, part of the medulla oblongata of the brainstem, plays a major role in regulating arterial blood pressure and breathing. It regulates blood pressure by regulating the activity of the sympathetic nerves that target the heart ...

, and spinal cord, where they target many respiratory and autonomic cell groups. Many of these same brainstem and forebrain areas send efferents back to the parabrachial nucleus as well.

Function

Arousal

Many subsets of neurons in the parabrachial complex that target specific

forebrain In the anatomy of the brain of vertebrates, the forebrain or prosencephalon is the rostral (forward-most) portion of the brain. The forebrain (prosencephalon), the midbrain (mesencephalon), and hindbrain (rhombencephalon) are the three primary ...

or brainstem cell groups contain specific

neuropeptide Neuropeptides are chemical messengers made up of small chains of amino acids that are synthesized and released by neurons. Neuropeptides typically bind to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to modulate neural activity and other tissues like the ...

s, and appear to carry out distinct functions. For example, a population of neurons in the external lateral parabrachial subnucleus that contain the neurotransmitter

calcitonin gene-related peptide Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a member of the calcitonin family of peptides consisting of calcitonin, amylin, adrenomedullin, adrenomedullin 2 ( intermedin) and calcitonin‑receptor‑stimulating peptide. Calcitonin is mainly produ ...

(CGRP) appears to be critical for relaying information about hypoxia (low blood oxygen) and/or

hypercapnia Hypercapnia (from the Greek ''hyper'' = "above" or "too much" and ''kapnos'' = "smoke"), also known as hypercarbia and CO2 retention, is a condition of abnormally elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the blood. Carbon dioxide is a gaseous pro ...

(high blood CO2) to forebrain sites to “wake up the brain” (arouse) when breathing is inadequate to meet physiological demands during sleep. This resulting “wakefulness drive to breath” contributes to prevention of

asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that ca ...

. Recent data indicate that

glutamatergic Glutamatergic means "related to glutamate". A glutamatergic agent (or drug) is a chemical that directly modulates the excitatory amino acid (glutamate/aspartate) system in the body or brain. Examples include excitatory amino acid receptor agonis ...

neurons in the medial and lateral parabrachial nuclei, along with glutamatergic neurons in the

pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus The pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) or pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPT or PPTg) is a collection of neurons located in the upper pons in the brainstem. It lies caudal to the substantia nigra and adjacent to the superior cerebellar peduncle. ...

, provide a critical node in the brainstem for producing a

waking state Wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness in which an individual is conscious and engages in coherent cognitive and behavioral responses to the external world. Being awake is the opposite of being asleep, in which ...

. Lesions of these neurons cause irreversible coma.

Blood sugar control

Other neurons in the superior lateral parabrachial nucleus that contain cholecystokinin have been found to prevent hypoglycemia.

Thermoregulation

Other neurons in the dorsal lateral parabrachial nucleus that contain

dynorphin Dynorphins (Dyn) are a class of opioid peptides that arise from the precursor protein prodynorphin. When prodynorphin is cleaved during processing by proprotein convertase 2 (PC2), multiple active peptides are released: dynorphin A, dynorphin ...

sense

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different de ...

temperature from spinal afferents, and send that information to neurons in the

preoptic area The preoptic area is a region of the hypothalamus. MeSH classifies it as part of the anterior hypothalamus. TA lists four nuclei in this region, (medial, median, lateral, and periventricular). Functions The preoptic area is responsible for ther ...

involved in

thermoregulation Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

. A study in 2017, has shown this information to be relayed through the lateral parabrachial nucleus rather than the thalamus, which drives thermoregulatory behaviour.

Taste

Parabrachial neurons in rodents that relay taste information to the ventroposterior parvocellular (taste) nucleus of the

are mainly CGRP neurons in the external medial parabrachial nucleus and they project predominantly

contralateral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

ly, as well as a smaller number in the ventral lateral nucleus, which project mainly

ipsilateral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

ly. Neurons that mediate the sensation of

itching Itch (also known as pruritus) is a Wikt:sensation, sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch. Itch has resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of Sensory system, sensory experience. Itch has many similarities to pain, ...

, connect to the parabrachial nucleus by way of glutamatergic spinal projection neurons. This pathway triggers scratching in mice.

Pleasure

The parabrachial nucleus relays satiety and pain-related signals to higher brain regions; when inhibited, this can produce "liking" responses to certain pleasurable stimuli, such as sweet taste.

References

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