下丘脑室旁核催产素神经元信号驱动小鼠从休息到产热与行为觉醒的状态转换
Oxytocin neurons signal state-dependent transitions from rest to thermogenesis and behavioral arousal
小鼠下丘脑室旁核催产素（PVN OT）神经元在体内钙活动与从休息向产热和行为觉醒的转换同步，且这一动态在社会性与非社会性情境中均出现，与最初假设相反。研究先显示 PVN OT 神经元在社交性体温调节中被激活，随后用计算机视觉模型追踪体温效应通路，发现在低体温休息状态下精确定时刺激 PVN OT 神经元可先增强产热、继而引发行为觉醒。作者据此提出 PVN OT 神经元促进体温-行为状态间稳态依赖性转换的模型。
来源：eLife · doi.org
Core body temperature (Tb) is defended within narrow limits through thermoregulatory behaviors like huddling, nesting, and physical activity, as well as autonomic responses like brown fat thermogenesis. While Tb displays regulated fluctuations across different behavioral states and rest/arousal cycles, the neural control of these transitions remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate the relationship between oxytocin neurons of the paraventricular hypothalamus (PVN OT ) and behavioral and autonomic thermoeffector pathways across physiological states in mice. First, we show that PVN OT neurons are activated during social thermoregulation. We then demonstrate that in vivo PVN OT calcium dynamics align with transitions from rest to thermogenesis and behavioral arousal. Counter to our initial hypothesis, these dynamics were observed in both social and non-social contexts. Using a computer vision model to track thermoeffector pathways, we demonstrate that precisely timed stimulation of PVN OT neurons during low-Tb resting states increases thermogenesis followed by behavioral arousal. We therefore suggest a model in which PVN OT neurons facilitate homeostatic state-dependent transitions in thermo-behavioral states.