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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Aug 15.
Published in final edited form as: Brain Res. 2018 Aug 15;1693(Pt B):197–200. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2018.02.039

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Light touch circuitry in the skin and gut. A) Skin light touch circuit is a two-receptor system, composed of the Merkel cell at the interface between epidermis and dermis, that relies on Piezo2 for mechanosensation and it uses synaptic 5-HT signaling to communicated with a mechanosensitive DRG neuron that also relies of Piezo2 for mechanosensation. (B) “GI touch” circuitry is composed of a mechanosensitive epithelial EC cell that may also rely on Piezo2 for mechanosensation and it is proposed to form a 5-HT synapse with a potentially mechanosensitive sensory neuron (either intrinsic IPAN or extrinsic that leads to the DRG or vagal nuclei).