Go to JCI Insight
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Publication alerts by email
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Contact
  • Clinical Research and Public Health
  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • By specialty
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Immunology
    • Metabolism
    • Nephrology
    • Neuroscience
    • Oncology
    • Pulmonology
    • Vascular biology
    • All ...
  • Videos
    • ASCI Milestone Awards
    • Video Abstracts
    • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • Reviews
    • View all reviews ...
    • The cGAS-STING pathway: DNA sensing in health and disease (Jun 2026)
    • Neurodegeneration (Mar 2026)
    • Clinical innovation and scientific progress in GLP-1 medicine (Nov 2025)
    • Pancreatic Cancer (Jul 2025)
    • Complement Biology and Therapeutics (May 2025)
    • Evolving insights into MASLD and MASH pathogenesis and treatment (Apr 2025)
    • Microbiome in Health and Disease (Feb 2025)
    • View all review series ...
  • Viewpoint
  • Collections
    • In-Press Preview
    • Clinical Research and Public Health
    • Research Letters
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Editorials
    • Commentaries
    • Editor's notes
    • Reviews
    • Viewpoints
    • 100th anniversary
    • Top read articles

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Specialties
  • Reviews
  • Review series
  • ASCI Milestone Awards
  • Video Abstracts
  • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • In-Press Preview
  • Clinical Research and Public Health
  • Research Letters
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Editorials
  • Commentaries
  • Editor's notes
  • Reviews
  • Viewpoints
  • 100th anniversary
  • Top read articles
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Publication alerts by email
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Contact
Top
  • View PDF
  • Download citation information
  • Send a comment
  • Terms of use
  • Standard abbreviations
  • Need help? Email the journal
  • Top
  • Abstract
  • Supplemental material
  • Version history
  • Article usage
  • Citations to this article

Advertisement

ResearchIn-Press PreviewCell biologyNeuroscience Open Access | 10.1172/JCI206862

Distinct parafascicular neuronal ensembles mediate the sensory and affective dimensions of trigeminal neuralgia

Yitian Lu,1 Yangyang Yi,2 Jiao Liu,3 Hao Zhi,1 Qing Chang,1 Zihao Huang,1 Yumeng Chen,1 Han L. Tan,4 Yiheng Tu,2 Yun Wang,1 and Cheng Cen1

1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology,, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China

2State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, nstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

3Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, United States of America

Find articles by Lu, Y. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology,, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China

2State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, nstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

3Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, United States of America

Find articles by Yi, Y. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology,, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China

2State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, nstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

3Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, United States of America

Find articles by Liu, J. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology,, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China

2State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, nstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

3Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, United States of America

Find articles by Zhi, H. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology,, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China

2State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, nstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

3Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, United States of America

Find articles by Chang, Q. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology,, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China

2State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, nstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

3Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, United States of America

Find articles by Huang, Z. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology,, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China

2State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, nstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

3Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, United States of America

Find articles by Chen, Y. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology,, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China

2State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, nstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

3Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, United States of America

Find articles by Tan, H. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology,, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China

2State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, nstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

3Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, United States of America

Find articles by Tu, Y. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology,, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China

2State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, nstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

3Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, United States of America

Find articles by Wang, Y. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology,, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China

2State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, nstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

3Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, United States of America

Find articles by Cen, C. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Published July 14, 2026 - More info

J Clin Invest. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI206862.
Copyright © 2026, Lu et al. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Published July 14, 2026 - Version history
View PDF
Abstract

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a severe orofacial pain disorder accompanied by anxiety, yet its central mechanisms remain elusive. Analysis of human fMRI data identified the parafascicular nucleus (PF) as a candidate region. Using a TN mouse model, we uncovered two spatially and functionally distinct PF neuronal ensembles that separately encoded sensory and affective dimensions of pain. One population received inhibitory input from GABAergic neurons in the oral spinal trigeminal nucleus (Sp5O) and mediated nociception. The second population, driven by a glutamatergic Sp5O-lateral parabrachial nucleus (lPBN)-PF pathway, encoded pain-related anxiety. The engagement of the anxiety-encoding ensemble lagged behind that of the pain-encoding ensemble, with a shorter delay in females. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing identified Col25a1 and Syn2 as markers of the anxiety-encoding ensemble. Notably, this population, localized in the medial PF, formed a reciprocal lPBN-mPF-lPBN excitatory-feedback loop that sustained affective pain. These findings positioned PF as a key node linking pain and emotion in TN.

Graphical Abstract
graphical abstract
Supplemental material

View

Version history
  • Version 1 (July 14, 2026): In-Press Preview

Article tools

  • View PDF
  • Download citation information
  • Send a comment
  • Terms of use
  • Standard abbreviations
  • Need help? Email the journal

Metrics

  • Article usage
  • Citations to this article

Go to

  • Top
  • Abstract
  • Supplemental material
  • Version history
Advertisement
Advertisement

Copyright © 2026 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

Sign up for email alerts