• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.833-843
• /
• 1990

Vasomotor areas were identified by stimulating various sites of the medulla electrically in adult cats anesthetized with a-chloralose and their correlation with somatosympathetic pressor or depressor responses was investigated. Followings are the results obtained: 1. Pressor areas were found in the rostral ventrolateral, the caudal ventrolateral and the rostral dorsolateral medulla. 2. Separate depressor areas were found dorsal and ventral to the rostral ventrolateral pressor area. 3. Some areas showed biphasic responses: depressor responses to low frequency[1 \ulcorner2 Hz] and pressor responses to high frequency[20 \ulcorner100 Hz] stimulation 4. Lesions on the rostral ventrolateral pressor areas abolished the somatosympathetic pressor responses to the stimulation of peripheral afferent nerves, while the depressor responses remained. Lesions on the caudal ventrolateral pressor area affected neither the pressor nor depressor responses to the peripheral nerve stimulation. 5. Lesions on the depressor areas resulted in decreased depressor responses to the peripheral nerve stimulation, but to a lesser degree than that resulted from lesions on the pressor areas. 6. A microinjection of glutamate solution to the pressor area resulted in a prolonged pressor response, while glutamate injection to the depressor areas did not elicit depressor responses. From the above results, it is concluded that there are separate pressor and depressor areas in the rostral medulla of cats and each area plays a role in somatosympathetic pressor and depressor responses, respectively.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.201-209
• /
• 1991

The rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) has been established recently as a sympathoexcitatory area. The present study was conducted to investigate whether the somatosympathetic pressor and/or depressor responses are mediated through RVLM in cats anesthetized with ${\alpha}-chloralose$. An occipital craniectomy was performed and ventrolateral medulla were stimulated either electrically or chemically to evoke changes in arterial blood pressure. And then the effect of lesions in the ventrolateral medulla on the changes in blood pressure elicited by the peripheral nerve stimulation was observed. Followings are the results obtained: 1) Pressor areas were found in the ventrolateral medulla, lateral reticular nucleus and rostral dorsal area. 2) Depressor areas were found mainly in the ventrolateral medulla rostral to the pressor areas. 3) Some areas showed biphasic responses: a depressor response to lower frequency and a pressor response to higher frequency stimulation. 4) After electrical lesion in pressor area in RVLM, the somatosympathetic pressor response was abolished or depressed markedly. The somatosympathetic depressor response, however, remained after the lesion. 5) Electrical lesion in the depressor area abolished somatosympathetic depressor response. From the above results it is concluded that somatosympathetic pressor response is mediated through RVLM, while somatosympathetic depressor response is not mediated through RVLM.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.66-69
• /
• 2019

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is commonly associated with autonomic failure in the peripheral nervous system. Less often it is related to central lesions in brainstem and cerebellum. We describe a patient with OH associated with tuberculosis meningoencephalitis involving the brainstem including rostral ventrolateral medulla. This is the first case of OH resulting from focal lesions in the dorsal medulla in a patient with meningoencephalitis.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.211-221
• /
• 1991

Although the existence of nerve cells which determine the activity of sympathetic nervous system in ventrolateral medulla is advocated recently, there are wide varieties on the location and function of them according to authors. Present study aimed to identify and characterize the medullospinal tract cells in rostral and caudal medulla of cats .which branch to the lateral horn of the upper thoracic spinal cord. Cats were anesthetized with ${\alpha}-chloralose$. The upper thoracic spinal cord and floor of the IVth ventricle were exposed. Medullospinal tract cells in rostral and caudal medulla were identified by anti-dromic stimulation of the intermediolateral nucleus in the upper thoracic cord and then the location and physiological characteristics of these cells were studied. A total of seventy cells in medulla had constant latency and responded to high frequency stimulation to thoracic cord. Among them fifty-six cells were identified as medullospinal tract cells either by collision with spontaneous activities or activities evoked by sciatic nerve stimulation(27/56), or by determining the refractory period (29/56). Thirty-one of these cells branched to the contralateral thoracic spinal cord, twenty-one cells to the ipsilateral side and remaining four cells branched to both sides. The conduction velocity of cells branching to the contralateral side was $29{\pm}2.9\;m/sec$ and that of cells to the ipsilateral side was $39.1{\pm}6.0\;m/sec$. When medulla was devided into two by a horizontal plane at 3 mm rostral to the obex, fifty-one among seventy cells were in the rostral medulla and nineteen were in the caudal medulla. The conduction velocities of these two groups were $21.6{\pm}1.0\;and\;33.3{\pm}3.9\;m/sec$, respectively. In this study, we confirmed the existence of two groups of medullospinal tract cells in rostral and caudal ventrolateral medulla, which branch to the lateral horn of thoracic cord and these cells have relatively few spontaneous activities and rapid conduction velocity, so we concluded that these cells are different from the previously known sympatho-related cells in ventrolateral medulla.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.75-88
• /
• 1992

It is well established that neurons in ventrolateral medulla play a key role in determining the vasomotor tone. The purpose of present study is to identify sympathetic related, medullospinal tract neurons in ventrolateral medulla and to show that these mediate somato-sympathetic reflex. Medullospinal tract cells were identified by antidromic stimulation to intermediolateral nucleus (IML) of the second thoracic ($T_2$) spinal cord in anesthetized cats. Peripheral nerves were stimulated for orthodromic activation of these cells and peripheral receptive fields were determined. Post R wave histogram of unit and spike triggered averaging of sympathetic nerve discharge (SND) were used to define sympathetic related cell. A total of 113 neurons was recorded in ventrolateral medulla that had the axonal projections to $T_2$ spinal cord. Thirty four of these medullospinal cells showed spontaneous discharges and the others not. Between these two groups, rostro-caudal coordinate of the distribution from obex [$4.7{\pm}0.2\;$ (mean S.E.) mm, 4.1 0.1 mm], depth from dorsal surface ($5.5{\pm}0.2mm,\;4.9{\pm}0.1mm$ and conduction velocity ($9.9{\pm}1.7m/sec,\;16.7{\pm}1.9\;m/sec$) were significantly different (p<0.05). In spontaneously discharging group, characteristics of rostral and caudal groups were significantly different and we demonstrated that cells in rostral group mediate somatosympathetic reflex. From these results, we conclude that a certain portion of spontaneously discharging medullospinal tract cells in rostral ventrolateral medulla comprise the efferent outputs of somatosympathetic reflex to sympathetic preganglion neurons.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.79-84
• /
• 1996

A number of experimental evidences suggest that the rnun ventrolateral medulla(RVLM) is the final common pathway in the regulation of arterial blood pressure. A Voup of neurons in the RVLM, called the cardiovascular neurons (UN), show spontaneous activity temporally synchronized with the periodic cardiac cycle. These neurons affect the sympathetic nerve discharge(SND), thus are believed to be responsible for blood pressure control. The present experiment identified 98 UVNs in 42 cats based on the temporal relationships between each neuron's activity with both the cardiac cycle and SWD. In 20 UWL changes of spontaneous firing rate(FR) during the somatosympathetic reflex(SSR) were studied Five different firing patterns were observed during the pressor and depressor responses of SSR, implying that they form an interconnected neuronal circuit interacting with one another to generate efferent signals for blood pressure regulation. In the following companion paper, the firing patterns of CVN are analyzed to develop a minimal neuronal circuit model explaining the present experimental outcome.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.29-34
• /
• 1999

The hyperactivity of cholinergic system in the RVLM of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) may contribute to the sustained elevation of blood pressure. However, the hyperactivity mechanisms of cholinergic system are controversial. Thus, to clarify the mechanisms of cholinergic hyperactivity in RVLM of the SHR, we studied the activities of enzymes that participate in the biosynthesis and degradation of acetylcholine (ACh) and the density of muscarinic receptors in RVLM of the 14- to 18-week-old SHR and age-marched Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). Choline acetyltransferase activity was far greater in RVLM of SHR than that of WKY. $[^3H]ACh$ release from RVLM was also greater in SHR than in WKY. Acetylcholinesterase activity and $[^3H]NMS$ binding of RVLM slice of SHR were not significantly different from that of WKY. These results suggest that the enhanced cholinergic mechanisms in the RVLM of SHR is due to the enhanced presynaptic cholinergic tone rather than the altered postsynaptic mechanisms.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.37-43
• /
• 1993

Electrical or chemical stimulation of many areas in the brainstem modulates activity of dorsal horn neurons (DHN). This is known to be mediated by a population of bulbospinal neurons. Yet, little is known about responses of DHNs to stimulation of the caudal ventrolateral medulla (CVLM). Thus, the purpose of the present study is to see if there is any change in activity of DHNs when CVLM is stimulated electrically. Thirty-one DHNs were recorded from dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Fourteen DHNs (45%) were classified as wide dynamic range neurons and 9 (19%) were high threshold cells, and 4 (13%) and 4 (13%) were deep and low threshold neurons, respectively. Among 31 neurons tested for responses to stimulation of CVLM, 21 DHNs (68%) were inhibited by the electrical stimulation of CVLM ($200{\mu}A,\;100{\mu}s$ duration, 100 Hz), and 9 cells (39%) did not show any change in neuronal activity. One neuron was excited by the stimulation. The electrical stimulation of CVLM not only inhibited spontaneous activity of DHNs but also inhibited evoked responses of DHNs to somatic stimulation in the receptive field. These data suggest that CVLM is one of the pain-modulatory areas that control transmission of ascending information of noxious input to the brain from the spinal cord.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.77-85
• /
• 1987

This study was carried out to determine the role of cholinoceptors in the ventrolateral medulla on central control of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR). In rats anesthetized with urethane and paralyzed, microinjections of the neuroexcitatory amino acid L-glutamate (300 ng/site) were performed to functionally identity the vasopressor area (VLPA) and the vasodepressor area (VLDA) in the ventrolateral medulla oblongata. 1. The bilateral microinjection of carbachol (300 ng/site) into the VLPA produced significantly an increase in BP and HR which was not blocked by bilateral pretreatment of hexamethoium ($4\;{\mu}g/site$). 2. The bilateral microinjection of physostigmine (200 ng/site) and oxotremorine (300 ng/site) into the VLPA produced significantly an increase in BP respectively. 3. The bilateral microinjection of atropine ($4\;{\mu}g/site$) into the VLPA produced significantly a decrease in BP and HR. 4. The bilateral micro injection of acetylcholine (500 ng/site) and dimethylphenylpiperazinium (500 ng/site) into the VLDA produced significantly a decrease in BP and HR respectively. 5. The depressor and bradycardiac responses elicited by the bilateral microinjection of acetylcholine (500 ng/site) into the VLDA were blocked by bilateral pretreatment of hexamethonium ($4\;{\mu}g/site$). The results suggest that the activation of cholinoceptors in VLPA produce hypertensive and tachycardiac responses which may be mediated by muscarinic receptors, and the activation of cholinoceptors in VLDA produce hypotensive and bradycardiac responses which may be mediated by nicotinic receptors.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.486-496
• /
• 1991

Spinal parasympathetic outflows originate in the sacral parasympathetic nuclei. The sacral parasympathetic nuclei receive inputs from the brainstem. Many areas in the medulla appear to influence sympathetic outflow of the spinal cord. Whether neurons in these areas of the medulla may project to the lumbosacral cord to affect the parasympathetic outflow has not been studied clearly. Thus, this study was intended to investigate origins of cells projecting from the medulla to the sacral parasympathetic nuclei of the spinal cord. In 3 cats, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was injected into the lower lumbar spinal cord. HRP labeled neurons were found mainly in the following areas: nucleus retroambiguus, nucleus tractus solitarius, raphe complex and ventrolateral area of the rostral medulla. Most of these areas are known to be involved in regulation of sympathetic activity, and, thus, these results indicate that these areas are likely to affect the sacral parasympathetic outflow as they do for the sympathetic nerves.