Divergent sensory pathways of sneezing and coughing

Sneezing and coughing are frequently associated with allergies and respiratory viral infections.

This study reveals that sneezing and coughing are initiated by discrete sensory receptors and transmitted by divergent neuropathways, offering drug targets for managing pathological sneezing and coughing.

The researchers demonstrate that only one population (MrgprC11⁺MrgprA3⁻) mediates sneezing responses to variety of stimulants but does not mediate coughing (despite innervating trachea), although the nasal mucosa is innervated by several discrete populations of sensory neurons.

The authors also found a distinct sensory population (somatostatin [SST⁺]) mediates coughing but not sneezing, thus  revealing a distinction between sneezing and coughing.

The researchers also found that at the circuit level, sneeze and cough signals are transmitted and modulated by divergent neuropathways. 

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00900-0

https://sciencemission.com/Divergent-sensory-pathways-of-sneezing-and-coughing