Specific and non-uniform brain states during cold perception in mice

Abstract

The quest to decode the complex supraspinal mechanisms that integrate cutaneous thermal information in the central system is still ongoing. The dorsal horn of the spinal cord is the first hub that encodes thermal input which is then transmitted to brain regions via the spinothalamic and thalamo-cortical pathways. So far, our knowledge about the strength of the interplay between the brain regions during thermal processing is limited. To address this question, we imaged the brains of awake and freely-moving mice using Functional Ultrasound imaging during plantar exposure to constant and varying temperatures. Our study, a synchronous large field investigation of mice brains reveals for the first time the brain states and the specific dynamic interplay between key regions involved in thermal processing. Our study reveals: i) a dichotomy in the response of the somato-motor-cingulate cortices and the hypothalamus, which was never described before, due to the lack of appropriate tools to study such regions with both good spatial and temporal resolutions. ii) We infer that cingulate areas may be involved in the affective responses to temperature changes. iii) Colder temperatures (ramped down) reinforces the disconnection between the somato-motor-cingulate and hypothalamus networks. iv) Finally, we also confirm the existence in the mouse brain of a dynamic brain mode characterized by low cognitive strength, described previously only in non-human primates and humans. The present study points towards the existence of a common hub between somato-motor and cingulate regions, whereas hypothalamus functions are related to a secondary network.