# Elucidating Cutaneous Mechanosensory Circuits, from Development to Disease

> **NIH NIH R35** · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · 2024 · $915,281

## Abstract

Abstract
Our relationship with the physical world is rich, complex, and essential for life. How does the
nervous system encode component dimensions of touch –pressure, texture, vibratory frequency,
adhesiveness, wetness, compliance– and superimpose these with respect to location, direction,
and speed of movement of a tactile stimulus. To understand the neural encoding of touch, we seek
to define the properties and functions of mechanosensory neurons whose mechanosensitive
endings are embedded within the skin as well as the functional organization of the subcortical
touch circuitry. We also investigate development of touch neurons and the subcortical touch
circuitry, embracing the premise that if we know how it’s built, we can better understand how it
works. To achieve our goals, we have generated an array of mouse genetic tools for interrogating
the physiologically distinct classes of Low-Threshold Mechanoreceptors (LTMRs) and High-
Threshold Mechanoreceptors (HTMRs), which collectively mediate our sense of touch. These
genetic tools are the lab’s engine of discovery that enable advanced physiological, anatomical,
molecular, developmental, and behavioral analyses of the mechanosensory system. The goals
of my laboratory during the next eight years, and thus this P35 proposal, are: 1) to elucidate the
properties and functions of LTMR and HTMR subtypes; 2) to define the organizational logic of the
direct and indirect dorsal column pathways; 3) to establish how mechanotransduction contributes
to somatosensory system development; 4) to determine the basis of aberrant touch reactivity in
nervous system disorders; and 5) to train somatosensory researchers and future mentors, with
emphasis on rigor, creativity, collaboration, diversity, and inclusion. Achieving the goals of this R35
will reveal mechanisms of somatosensory neuron development and function, and the central
representation of touch, under normal and disease conditions, and help to prepare the
neuroscientists of the future.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10664692
- **Project number:** 1R35NS132196-01
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
- **Principal Investigator:** David D GINTY
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $915,281
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2032-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10664692

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10664692, Elucidating Cutaneous Mechanosensory Circuits, from Development to Disease (1R35NS132196-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10664692. Licensed CC0.

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