A possible new relay for tongue thermal sense in the dorsal margin of the trigeminal principal nucleus in rats

Neurons responding to innocuous thermal stimulation of the anterior tongue were newly identified in the dorsal margin of the trigeminal principal nucleus (PV). Connections of the dorsal margin of the PV were neuroanatomically identified using wheat germ agglutinin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) with electrophysiological techniques. Injection of WGA-HRP into the dorsal margin of the PV demonstrated anterograde labels distributed from the most dorsomedial portion of the posteromedial ventral nucleus (VPM) to the dorsolateral portion of the parvicellular part of the VPM and retrograde labels in the superficial layers of the caudal subnucleus of the spinal trigeminal nucleus (SpVc). Injection of WGA-HRP in the most dorsomedial portion of the VPM demonstrated retrogradely labeled cells in the dorsal margin of the PV as well as in the superficial layers of the SpVc. Tracer injection into the superficial layers of the SpVc resulted in anterograde labels in the dorsal margin of the PV as well as in the dorsomedial portion of the VPM. These findings show that neurons in the PV respond to innocuous thermal stimulation of the trigeminal field and suggest that the dorsal margin of the PV is a possible new relay for the tongue thermal sense, receiving thermal information from the superficial layers of the SpVc, the primary thermal relay for the trigeminal field, and passing the information to the thalamic relay.

Research highlights
► Trigeminal principal nucleus neurons respond to innocuous thermal stimulation.
► Thermal responsive area in the trigeminal principal nucleus projects to the thalamus.
► Thermal responsive area in the trigeminal principal nucleus is another thermal relay.