The localization of respiratory activity in the pons of the anaesthetized guinea pigs has been studied. The respiration related units were localized in/or close to the following anatomical structures: nucleus parabrachialis, nucleus trigemini motorius and nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis. The influence of the pontine respiratory activity on the pattern of breathing was studied by the use of ...

This work addressed the study of subnucleus reticularis dorsalis (SRD) neurons in relation to their supraspinal input and the spinal terminating sites of their descending axons. SRD extracellular unitary recordings from anesthetized cats aimed to specifically test, 1) the rostrocaudal segmental level reached by axons of spinally projecting (SPr) neurons collateralizing or not to or through the ...

Introduction: The nucleus paragigantocellularis lateralis (LPGi) is involved in the descending pain modulation. The neurostreoid, 17β-estradiol found in the PGi nucleus and modulates nociception by binding to estrogen receptors and also by allosteric interaction with NMDA receptors. In this study, the role of NMDA receptors in the 17β-estradiol-induced pain modulation was investig...

The nucleus reticularis pontis oralis (RPO) and nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis (RPC) are implicated in the generation of rapid eye movement sleep (REM). Work in cats has indicated that GABA in RPO plays a role in the regulation of REM. We assessed REM after local microinjections into RPO and RPC of the GABAA agonist, muscimol (MUS), and the GABAA antagonist, bicuculline (BIC). Rats (90 day...

The nucleus reticularis pontis oralis (RPO) and nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis (RPC) are implicated in the generation of rapid eye movement sleep (REM). Work in cats has indicated that GABA in RPO plays a role in the regulation of REM. We assessed REM after local microinjections into RPO and RPC of the gamma-aminobutyric acid-A (GABA(A)) agonist, muscimol (MUS), and the GABA(A) antagonist,...

The autoradiographic [14C]deoxyglucose method for quantitative determination of local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) was used to study the compensatory process following hemilabyrinthec tomy in adult cats. In the critical stage when the cats were uncompensated, LCGU in the deafferented vestibular nuclei was well below that of the intact side. Increased LCGU was seen in contralat...

Injecting muscarinic receptor agonists into a specific area of the brainstem produces an antinociceptive response. The present study investigates whether direct injections of the cholinergic agonist, carbachol, into the rat nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis (NRGC)/nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis alpha (NRGCalpha) of the rostral ventrolateral medulla evokes antinociception, and then ex...

1. This study examined the inhibitory effects of conditioning stimuli delivered to the periaqueductal gray (PAG), nucleus cuneiformis (CU), nucleus raphe magnus (NRM), nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis (NGC), and nucleus reticularis magnocellularis (NMC) on functionally identified neurons of the lumbar spinal cord dorsal horn in chloralose-anesthetized or decerebrate cats. 2. Neurons were c...