Neurons in the NTS of Rat Response to Gastric Distention Stimulation and Acupuncture at Body Surface Points

The nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) is a primary center, not only for receiving visceral afferents, but also for somatic afferents. Previous experiments demonstrated that NTS might be a primary afferent center for connecting the Stomach Meridian (ST Medirian) and the Stomach. In this study, an extracellular recording method was used to analyze the firing neurons. The variety of NTS' neurons' responses to gastric distention (GD) and different body surface points were compared. In 52 rats, 104 firing neurons of NTS were recorded, in which there were 47 GD related neurons. For the 47 GD related neurons, there were 33 neurons responsive to acupuncture at Sibai (ST 2, belonging to ST Meridian). Therefore, in the 47 GD related neurons, the response neuron occurring rate (RNOR) for acupuncture at ST 2 was 70.21%. Meanwhile in the 47 GD related neurons, when acupuncture was performed at Quanliao (SI 18, belonging to Small Intestine Meridian) and non-acupoint respectively, there were 18 and 17 firing neurons, and the RNOR were 38.30% and 36.17% respectively. The experiment demonstrated that there were some varieties in the response of NTS neurons to GD stimuli and acupuncture at different body surface points, which suggested that the ST Meridian was more intimately linked to the Stomach and that the different acupoints do have some specificity.

Excitatory convergence of periaqueductal gray and somatic afferents in the solitary tract nucleus: role for neurokinin 1 receptors

Our previous studies (Boscan P, Kasparov S, and Paton JF. Eur J Neurosci 16: 907–920, 2002) showed that activation of somatic afferents attenuated the baroreceptor reflex via neurokinin type 1 (NK1) and GABAA receptors within the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). The periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) can also depress baroreceptor reflex function and project to the NTS. In the present study, we have tested the possibility that the dorsolateral (dl)-PAG projects to the NTS neurons that also respond to somatic afferent input. In an in situ, arterially perfused, unanesthetized decerebrate rat preparation, somatic afferents (brachial plexus), cervical spinal cord, and dl-PAG were stimulated electrically, whereas NTS neurons were recorded extracellularly. From 45 NTS neurons excited by either brachial plexus or dl-PAG stimulation, 41 received convergence excitatory inputs from both afferents. Onset latency and evoked peak discharge frequency from brachial plexus afferents were 39.4 ± 4.7 ms and 10.7 ± 1.1 Hz, whereas this was 43.9 ± 6.4 ms and 7.9 ± 1 Hz, respectively, following dl-PAG stimulation. As revealed by using a paired pulse stimulation protocol, monosynaptic connections were found in 9 of 36 neurons tested from both spinal cord and dl-PAG. We tested NK1-receptor sensitivity in 38 neurons that received convergent inputs from brachial plexus/PAG. Fifteen neurons were sensitive to selective antagonism of NK1 receptors. CP-99994, the NK1 antagonist, failed to alter ongoing firing activity but reduced the evoked peak discharge frequency following stimulation of both brachial plexus (from 12.3 ± 1.8 to 7.2 ± 1.3 Hz; P < 0.01) and PAG (from 7.8 ± 1.5 to 4.5 ± 1 Hz; P < 0.01). We conclude that 1) somatic brachial and PAG afferents can converge onto single NTS neurons; 2) this convergence occurs via either direct or indirect pathways; and 3) NK1 receptors are activated by some of these inputs.