Probabilistic, spinally-gated control of bladder pressure and autonomous micturition by Barrington’s nucleus CRH neurons

Hiroki Ito*, Anna C Sales, Chris H Fry, Anthony Kanai, Marcus Drake, Anthony E Pickering*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)
125 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Micturition requires precise control of bladder and urethral sphincter via parasympathetic, sympathetic and somatic motoneurons. This involves a spino-bulbospinal control circuit incorporating Barrington’s nucleus in the pons (Barr). Ponto-spinal glutamatergic neurons that express corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) form one of the largest Barr cell populations. BarrCRH neurons can generate bladder contractions, but it is unknown whether they act as a simple switch or provide a high-fidelity pre-parasympathetic motor drive and whether their activation can actually trigger voids. Combined opto- and chemo-genetic manipulations along with multisite extracellular recordings in urethane anaesthetised CRHCre mice show that BarrCRH neurons provide a probabilistic drive that generates co-ordinated voids or non-voiding contractions depending on the phase of the micturition cycle. CRH itself provides negative feedback regulation of this process. These findings inform a new inferential model of autonomous micturition and emphasise the importance of the state of the spinal gating circuit in the generation of voiding.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere56605
Number of pages36
JournaleLife
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Apr 2020

Research Groups and Themes

  • Anaesthesia Pain and Critical Care

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