# Central circuitry controlling micturition

> **NIH NIH R01** · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · 2020 · $384,806

## Abstract

Project Summary
The release of urine, known as micturition, is a tightly controlled process. Micturition is
an important physiological function necessary to maintain water and salt balance, as
well as to expel unwanted molecules from the blood. However, in many animals urine
is also released in specific places to communicate with other members of the same
species and its release is avoided in other places to avoid detection by predators.
Descending projections from the “pontine micturition center” (PMC) to the spinal cord
are conserved in mice and humans and trigger urine release. The PMC receives inputs
from many higher brain centers and integrates information from these to control
micturition. For this reason, in many neuropsychiatric diseases the central control of
micturition is compromised resulting in urine incontinence, urine retention, or the
volitional release of urine at socially inappropriate times and places. Here we propose
to map and study these pathways in mice to understand how circuits that underlie
central control of micturition.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9966978
- **Project number:** 5R01DK114834-04
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
- **Principal Investigator:** Pavel Osten
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $384,806
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9966978

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9966978, Central circuitry controlling micturition (5R01DK114834-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9966978. Licensed CC0.

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