Hypothalamic unitary responses to gastric vagal input from the proximal stomach

1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (1) ◽  
pp. G74-G80 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Yuan ◽  
W. D. Barber

Gastric vagally evoked extracellular unitary responses were recorded in the hypothalamus of anesthetized cats. The evoked unitary responses were localized in the paraventricular dorsomedial region, ventromedial nucleus, and lateral hypothalamus. The mean latency of the gastric vagally evoked hypothalamic neuronal responses in these three areas ranged from 368 +/- 39.8 to 371 +/- 45.2 (SD) ms. The majority (82%) of the gastric vagally evoked hypothalamic responses consisted of one to five spikes, while the remaining 18% were tonically active units. The vagal effect was inhibitory in 78% of the tonically active hypothalamic units responding to gastric vagal input. Convergence of gastric vagal input on single hypothalamic units from afferents in the dorsal and ventral vagal trunks was observed. Units were identified in the hypothalamus that responded to activation of mechanoreceptors in the proximal stomach by an intragastric balloon. This study provided new direct evidence of the density, localization, and characteristics of neuronal processing of gastric vagal input from the proximal stomach in the hypothalamus. The reciprocal connections between these areas of the hypothalamus and nucleus tractus solitarius in the caudal brain stem suggest that the hypothalamus may serve an important role in modulating the input of primary vagal afferent input from the proximal stomach.

1990 ◽  
Vol 258 (2) ◽  
pp. G320-G327 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Barber ◽  
Chun-Su Yuan ◽  
Brian J. Cammarata

Gastric vagal fibers on the proximal stomach that join the dorsal and ventral vagal trunks were electrically stimulated to localize and evaluate brain stem neuronal interactions in anesthetized cats. The brain stem responses were located in nucleus tractus solitarius in the dorsomedial, caudal region of the medulla oblongata. There was no significant difference in the mean latency of the gastric vagally evoked brain stem response between the dorsal and ventral vagal trunks. The responses consisted of single or multiple spikes with a mean latency of ap290 ± 50 (SD) ms. Forty-one percent, or 168 unitary responses of the 406 total responses recorded, showed convergence of proximal gastric vagal input from both the dorsal and ventral vagal trunks on the same recording site or on the same cell. Of those unitary responses that received convergent proximal gastric vagal input, 95 unitary responses (57%) showed convergence of input to the same area, on different cells at the same recording site during a single trial. Seventy-three single units (43%) received convergent input from proximal gastric vagal afferent fibers in both the dorsal and ventral trunks. Fifty-two, or 7l%, of the single unit convergent responses were excitatory in nature, whereas the remaining 29% were inhibitory. These data demonstrated that proximal gastric vagal afferent fibers that join the dorsal and ventral trunks converged on a significant number of single neurons in the brain stem. The convergent response was synaptically secure and exerted an identifiable biasing effect on the response of the brain stem neuron. These convergent interactions may play an important role in reflex mechanisms concerned with adaptive relaxation to accommodate the ingested content by the proximal stomach. gastric; proximal gastric vagal; ventral vagus; dorsal vagus; nucleus tractus solitarius; vagal brain stem interactions Submitted on March 14, 1988 Accepted on September 19, 1989


2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 325-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Zhen Kong ◽  
Min-Xing Fan ◽  
Bin-Hong Zhang ◽  
Zhen-Yu Wang ◽  
Yun Wang

1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (1) ◽  
pp. G24-G29
Author(s):  
W. D. Barber ◽  
C. S. Yuan

The brain stem neuronal responses to electrical stimulation of gastric branches of the ventral vagal trunk serving the proximal stomach were localized and evaluated in anesthetized cats. The responses were equally distributed bilaterally in the region of nucleus solitarius in the caudal brain stem. The mean latency of the response was 289 +/- 46 (SD) ms, which translated into a conduction velocity of less than 1 m/s based on the distance between the stimulating and recording electrodes. The responses consisted of single and multiple spikes that showed slight variability in the latency, indicating orthodromic activation via a synapse in approximately 98% of the responses recorded. Forty two percent of the units tested showed evidence of convergence of input from vagal afferent fibers in different branches of the ventral vagal trunk that served the proximal stomach. The resultant activity pattern of the unitary response appeared to be the product of 1) the gastric sensory input or modality conveyed by the afferent source and 2) the time of arrival and diversity of modalities served by other gastric afferents impinging on the unit. This provides a mechanism capable of responding on the basis of specific sensory modalities that dynamically reflect ongoing events monitored and conveyed by other gastric afferents in the region.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (2) ◽  
pp. G501-G511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Young ◽  
Amanda J. Page ◽  
Tracey A. O'Donnell ◽  
Nicole J. Cooper ◽  
L. Ashley Blackshaw

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR) are classified into group I, II, and III mGluR. Group I (mGluR1, mGluR5) are excitatory, whereas group II and III are inhibitory. mGluR5 antagonism potently reduces triggering of transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxations and gastroesophageal reflux. Transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxations are mediated via a vagal pathway and initiated by distension of the proximal stomach. Here, we determined the site of action of mGluR5 in gastric vagal pathways by investigating peripheral responses of ferret gastroesophageal vagal afferents to graded mechanical stimuli in vitro and central responses of nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) neurons with gastric input in vivo in the presence or absence of the mGluR5 antagonist 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)pyridine (MPEP). mGluR5 were also identified immunohistochemically in the nodose ganglia and NTS after extrinsic vagal inputs had been traced from the proximal stomach. Gastroesophageal vagal afferents were classified as mucosal, tension, or tension-mucosal (TM) receptors. MPEP (1–10 μM) inhibited responses to circumferential tension of tension and TM receptors. Responses to mucosal stroking of mucosal and TM receptors were unaffected. MPEP (0.001–10 nmol icv) had no major effect on the majority of NTS neurons excited by gastric distension or on NTS neurons inhibited by distension. mGluR5 labeling was abundant in gastric vagal afferent neurons and sparse in fibers within NTS vagal subnuclei. We conclude that mGluR5 play a prominent role at gastroesophageal vagal afferent endings but a minor role in central gastric vagal pathways. Peripheral mGluR5 may prove a suitable target for reducing mechanosensory input from the periphery, for therapeutic benefit.


1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmund T. Rolls ◽  
Martin J. Tovée ◽  
Stefano Panzeri

Backward masking can potentially provide evidence of the time needed for visual processing, a fundamental constraint that must be incorporated into computational models of vision. Although backward masking has been extensively used psychophysically, there is little direct evidence for the effects of visual masking on neuronal responses. To investigate the effects of a backward masking paradigm on the responses of neurons in the temporal visual cortex, we have shown that the response of the neurons is interrupted by the mask. Under conditions when humans can just identify the stimulus, with stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA) of 20 msec, neurons in macaques respond to their best stimulus for approximately 30 msec. We now quantify the information that is available from the responses of single neurons under backward masking conditions when two to six faces were shown. We show that the information available is greatly decreased as the mask is brought closer to the stimulus. The decrease is more marked than the decrease in firing rate because it is the selective part of the firing that is especially attenuated by the mask, not the spontaneous firing, and also because the neuronal response is more variable at short SOAs. However, even at the shortest SOA of 20 msec, the information available is on average 0.1 bits. This compares to 0.3 bits with only the 16-msec target stimulus shown and a typical value for such neurons of 0.4 to 0.5 bits with a 500-msec stimulus. The results thus show that considerable information is available from neuronal responses even under backward masking conditions that allow the neurons to have their main response in 30 msec. This provides evidence for how rapid the processing of visual information is in a cortical area and provides a fundamental constraint for understanding how cortical information processing operates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 441.1-441
Author(s):  
F. Pignataro ◽  
L. Zorzino ◽  
W. Maglione ◽  
A. Minniti ◽  
G. Clericuzio ◽  
...  

Background:Endothelial damage and fibroproliferative vasculopathy of small vessels are pathological hallmarks of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). Detection and analysis of circulating endothelial cells (CECs) detached from affected blood vessels may be an informative tool to study vascular dysfunction and could be considered a novel biomarker of scleroderma vasculopathy. Our group first showed the presence of CECs in SSc by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), demonstrating that a raised counts of active CECs may represent direct evidence of active vascular disease in SSc. Despite these interesting data, issues related to difficulties in CEC counting through FACS analysis, due their very low concentration in peripheral blood, prevented further investigations in this field. Recently, a specific kit for the detection of CECs has been developed through the CellSearch System (CS), a semi-automated device for the standardized analysis of rare cells, such as CECs, in peripheral blood.Objectives:To assess the counts of CECs determined by the CS in SSc patients and to evaluate their clinical implication and potential as vascular biomarker in SSc.Methods:10mL of blood samples were collected from 29 subjects (19 SSc patients and 10 healthy donors - HDs) and stored in tubes containing a specific preservative, to allow the analysis of 4mL of blood within 72 hours, according to manufacturer instructions. Out of 19 SSc patients, 18 were female, 10 had the limited form and 9 the diffuse cutaneous variant of SSc. CS uses a proprietary kit containing a ferrofluid-based reagent, that target CD146 to magnetically capture CECs, and the immunofluorescent reagents to stain the CECs, defined as CD146+, CD105-PE+, DAPI+ and CD45-APC-. Clinical, laboratoristic and demographic data were also collected.Results:The mean number of CECs in patients with SSc was significantly higher in comparison to HDs (554/4mL vs. 53.5/4 mL, p=0.0042). When analyzed according to disease subset, both lcSSc and dcSSc showed significantly increased levels of CECs in comparison with HDs (p=0.003 and p=0.005, respectively). No statistical difference was observed in the mean number of CECs in patients with lcSSc compared to those with dcSSc. Regarding vascular involvement, the CECs counts strictly correlated with the presence of digital ulcers (DUs) (p=0.0001) showing a median of 863cells/4mL for the SSc patients with DUs versus a median of 276.2/4mL for the SSc patients without DUs. No statistical correlation was found between CECs and serological autoantibody pattern, skin parameters, or joint and muscle involvement. Patients with active disease, according to the EUSTAR Activity Index, showed a higher CECs value than those with inactive disease (p=0.0012).Conclusion:The amount of CECs detectable in peripheral blood has been recently proposed as a marker of endothelial damage in different vascular diseases, including SSc. However, currently no standardized method is available to determine CEC counts, which makes reported data on CECs reliable and suitable. The CS system is a commercially available semi-automated system that enables standardized determination of CECs. Thus, we examined clinical utility of CECs count by this system in SSc patients. Our results confirm that baseline CEC counts, evaluated by a new standardized method, may represent direct evidence of endothelial damage in SSc and could be a promising tool for monitoring active disease and evaluating therapeutic responses to vascular and immunosuppressive treatments.References:[1]Del Papa N, Pignataro F. Front Immunol. 2018 Jun 18;9:1383[2]De Simone C et al. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2014 May;28(5):590-6[3]Del Papa N et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Apr;50(4):1296-304Disclosure of Interests:Francesca Pignataro: None declared, Laura Zorzino: None declared, Wanda Maglione: None declared, Antonina Minniti: None declared, Giulia Clericuzio: None declared, Marco Picozzi: None declared, Cecilia Simonelli Employee of: Menarini Silicon Biosystems, Francesco Picardo Employee of: Menarini Silicon Biosystems, Roberto Caporali: None declared, Nicoletta Del Papa: None declared


1977 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
K. Brandle

1. Artifically metamorphosed axolotls were exposed to both brief (impulse) and long-lasting horizontal angular accelerations on a turn-table. The animals responded with a head-turning reaction. 2. The general course of the reaction to impulse acceleration was independent of stimulus intensity. The velocity of the head movement first increased to a maximum exponentially and then decreased in a negative exponential manner. Stimulus intensity had a linear relationship to the mean maximum velocity and mean total angle covered by head-turning. The average velocity-time curves at various stimulus intensities differed only by a velocity factor. 3. During long-lasting constant accelerations the velocity of the head-turning increased to a maximum velocity in a sigmoid time-course and then decreased, first to a constant velocity, and then further. Mean values of the maximum velocity were correlated linearly with the stimulus intensity. 4. It was concluded that the head-turning reflexes in axolotls do not agree with the accepted movements of the vertebrate cupula and therefore are not a simple ‘copy’ of the afferent input. It is also suggested that the reaction threshold differes from that for the labyrinthine input.


1994 ◽  
Vol 266 (6) ◽  
pp. R1951-R1961 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bajic ◽  
E. J. Zuperku ◽  
M. Tonkovic-Capin ◽  
F. A. Hopp

The interaction between afferent inputs from carotid body chemoreceptors (CCRs) and from slowly adapting pulmonary stretch receptors (PSRs) on the discharge patterns of medullary inspiratory (I) and expiratory (E) neurons was characterized in thiopental sodium-anesthetized, paralyzed, ventilated dogs. A cycle-triggered ventilator was used to produce control and test pulmonary afferent input patterns. The CCRs were stimulated by phase-synchronized bolus injections of CO2-saturated saline into the common carotid arteries. Only those neurons whose discharge time course was altered by both inflation and CCR activation were studied. The dorsal respiratory group (DRG) I inflation-insensitive neurons were also included. Cycle-triggered histograms of unit activity were obtained for the neuronal responses to inflation, CO2 bolus, and their combination, as well as for the spontaneous control condition. Linearity of the interaction was tested by comparing the sum of the net individual responses to the net response of the combined afferent inputs. The results suggest that a linear (additive) interaction between CCR and PSR inputs exists for the DRG I inflation-sensitive neurons, the ventral respiratory group (VRG) I decrementing, and caudal VRG E augmenting neurons, while a nonadditive interaction exists for caudal VRG E decrementing bulbospinal neurons. The implications of these findings are discussed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha Funabashi ◽  
Natya N.L. Silva ◽  
Luciana M. Watanabe ◽  
Taiza E.G Santos-Pontelli ◽  
José Fernando Colafêmina ◽  
...  

Subjective visual vertical (SVV) evaluates the individual's capacity to determine the vertical orientation. Using a neck brace (NB) allow volunteers' heads fixation to reduce cephalic tilt during the exam, preventing compensatory ocular torsion and erroneous influence on SVV result. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the influence of somatosensory inputs caused by a NB on the SVV. METHOD: Thirty healthy volunteers performed static and dynamic SVV: six measures with and six without the NB. RESULTS: The mean values for static SVV were -0.075º±1.15º without NB and -0.372º±1.21º with NB. For dynamic SVV in clockwise direction were 1.73º±2.31º without NB and 1.53º±1.80º with NB. For dynamic SVV in counterclockwise direction was -1.50º±2.44º without NB and -1.11º±2.46º with NB. Differences between measurements with and without the NB were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Although the neck has many sensory receptors, the use of a NB does not provide sufficient afferent input to change healthy subjects' perception of visual verticality.


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