Cough or sneeze? How the brain decides what is let go

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solves a touch of pollen a sneeze or cough? Scientists have discovered nerve cells that trigger a reaction in contrast to another: "Nies neurons" in the nasal passages continue to lead to the brain, and separate neurons send cough messages, as a study after implementation on mice resulted in 1 .

The knowledge could lead to new and improved treatments in diseases such as allergies and chronic cough. These are gratifying news, because these diseases can be "incredibly frustrating" and the side effects of the current treatments can be "extraordinarily problematic", says lung specialist Matthew Drake from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, which was not involved in the work. The study was published in Cell today.

mucus-spitting signals

earlier work href = "https://www.nature.com/artics/d41586-01605-8" Data-Track = "Click" Data-Label = "https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-01605-8" Data-track-category text Link "> Neurons in the respiratory tract of the mouse based on the protein complexes categorized, called ion channels that are worn on the cell surfaces.

In order to find out which nose neurons cause sneezing, the researchers suspended mice various compounds that are known to activate certain types of ion channels.

They hit the mark when a substance called BAM 8-22 brought the mice to the sneeze. It is known that the connection activates an ion channel called MRGPRC11, which caused the researchers to assume that neurons that have MRGPRC11 cause sneezing. In fact, the researchers found that the sick mice that the suspected Nies neurons were deleted and then flu was administered were still sick but had no sneezing.

Even if the Nies neurons disappeared from the picture, the sick mice still had Cough-like reactions to an influenza infection . With methods similar to those that aimed at the Nies neurons, the researchers followed the cough reaction to a group of neurons in the trachea, which express a signal chemical called somatostatin.

viruses "develop very quickly," says neurobiologist and study mitutor Qin Liu at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. This could explain why there are two separate systems that are able to recognize and eliminate them in the airways.

Now Liu and her colleagues want to find out what happens after the sneezing and cough neurons have been triggered and send signals to the brain. She believes that it is likely that her signals will travel to the brain's breathing control center, where you change the respiratory pattern to either produce a cough or sneeze.

other Nies neurons?

The next big challenge is to find out whether similar neuroning rates exist in humans, says neurobiologist Patrik Ernfor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. In the first indications indicate that this is the case, says Liu, but further research is required.

Some researchers suspect that other neurons for sneezing and coughing are waiting to be discovered. Most reactions to sensory information are triggered by numerous neuron categories, and sneezing and coughing are probably similar, says sensory neurobiologist Stephen Liberles at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.

cough can be so persistent that he leads people to faint, says Drake. And yet doctors have no good options for the treatment of cough. Opioids like codeine are the most effective medication, but they can make people extremely sleepy and are addictive.

This lack of effective medication can cause doctors to dispose of cough relief, says Drake. "I hope that with the entry of new therapies on the market, our way of thinking about how to deal with [cough] and will change our enthusiasm for the treatment," he says.