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However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain insufficiently understood. Previous studies have suggested that the pathological conversion of tactile input into nociceptive signals involves maladaptive alterations in neural circuits and function within the spinal dorsal horn (SDH). Somatosensory processing and transmission in the SDH are regulated not only by local neuronal circuits but also by descending inputs from the brainstem and higher cortical regions. In this study, we show that chemogenetic silencing of descending neurons projecting directly from the primary somatosensory (S1) cortex to the SDH (S1\u2192SDH neurons) suppresses both PNI-induced allodynia-like behavior and c-FOS expression in the superficial SDH observed in male rats where touch-sensing A\u03b2 fibers were optogenetically activated. S1\u2192SDH neurons were excitatory and preferentially targeted excitatory SDH neurons (S1\u2192SDH neurons) broadly distributed across laminae I\u2013V. S1\u2192SDH neurons in the superficial laminae also received excitatory inputs from both A\u03b2 fibers and inhibitory inputs from neuropeptide Y promoter active SDH neurons (NpyP+ neurons). Furthermore, loss of inhibition from NpyP+ neurons induced A\u03b2 fiber-derived allodynia, which was attenuated by suppressing descending signaling from S1\u2192SDH neurons to the SDH. Moreover, silencing S1\u2192SDH neurons alleviated neuropathic allodynia. These findings identify a new corticospinal mechanism that contributes to A\u03b2 fiber-mediated neuropathic allodynia and highlight the S1\u2192SDH pathway as a potential therapeutic target.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells14231870","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,26]],"date-time":"2025-11-26T14:39:43Z","timestamp":1764167983000},"page":"1870","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Spinal Dorsal Horn Neurons Receiving Descending Input from the Primary Somatosensory Cortex Contribute to A\u03b2 Fiber-Induced Neuropathic Allodynia in Male Rats"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Sho","family":"Shinotsuka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular and System Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan"},{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eriko","family":"I","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular and System Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daichi","family":"Sueto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular and System Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kazuki","family":"Fujimori","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular and System Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ken","family":"Yamaura","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0585-9570","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Makoto","family":"Tsuda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular and System Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan"},{"name":"Kyushu University Institute for Advanced Study, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17002","DOI":"10.1038\/nrdp.2017.2","article-title":"Neuropathic pain","volume":"3","author":"Colloca","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat. 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