Synaptic Responses of Neurons Controlling the Parotid and von Ebner Salivary Glands in Rats to Stimulation of the Solitary Nucleus and Tract

2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 1267-1273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Suwabe ◽  
Hideyuki Fukami ◽  
Robert M. Bradley

Salivary secretion results from reflex stimulation of autonomic neurons via afferent sensory information relayed to neurons in the rostral nucleus of the solitary tract (rNST), which synapse with autonomic neurons of the salivatory nuclei. We investigated the synaptic properties of the afferent sensory connection to neurons in the inferior salivatory nucleus (ISN) controlling the parotid and von Ebner salivary glands. Mean synaptic latency recorded from parotid gland neurons was significantly shorter than von Ebner gland neurons. Superfusion of GABA and glycine resulted in a concentration-dependent membrane hyperpolarization. Use of glutamate receptor antagonists indicated that both AMPA and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are involved in the evoked excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). Inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) amplitude increased with higher intensity ST stimulation. Addition of the glycine antagonist strychnine did not affect the amplitude of the IPSPs significantly. The GABAA receptor antagonist, bicuculline (BMI) or mixture of strychnine and BMI abolished the IPSPs in all neurons. IPSP latency was longer than EPSP latency, suggesting that more than one synapse is involved in the inhibitory pathway. Results show that ISN neurons receive both excitatory and inhibitory afferent input mediated by glutamate and GABA respectively. The ISN neuron response to glycine probably derives from descending connections. Difference in the synaptic characteristics of ISN neurons controlling the parotid and von Ebner glands may relate to the different function of these two glands.

2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 3043-3055 ◽  
Author(s):  
DeForest Mellon

Intracellular electrophysiological studies of lateral protocerebral interneurons (LPIs) in the crayfish Procambarus clarkii have revealed convergence of multimodal sensory information onto these higher-level cells of the crustacean central olfactory pathway. Antennular stimulation by odors or electrical shocks generates excitatory-inhibitory sequences in some LPIs as does electrical or hydrodynamic stimulation of the antennae. Photic stimulation of the ipsilateral compound eye generates excitatory responses in LPIs, usually in the form of trains of impulse bursts that are timed to the peaks of the spontaneous oscillatory activity that characterizes these neurons. Focal electrical stimulation of the olfactory lobe, the termination point of antennular afferent input, or the accessory lobe, where higher-level visual and tactile inputs converge, also generates brief excitation and a delayed, prolonged inhibition in LPIs. Both phases of this activity are thought to be transmitted to the lateral protocerebrum via deutocerebral projection neurons, which have extensive dendritic arborizations in the olfactory lobe and the accessory lobe. The excitatory pathway is thought to synapse directly with target LPIs, whereas the inhibitory pathway is probably indirect and mediated through GABAergic interneurons within the lateral protocerebrum. There is evidence that both presynaptic and postsynaptic inhibition suppress activity in LPIs. Preliminary observations suggest that a small cluster of neurons adjacent to the hemi-ellipsoid body are inhibitory to LPI activity. Multimodal inhibitory and excitatory modulation of LPI activity may play a part in the contextual identification of odors in the crayfish olfactory system.


1982 ◽  
Vol 204 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Litosch ◽  
Y Saito ◽  
J N Fain

Forskolin is a diterpene that activates adenylate cyclase in a variety of mammalian cells. In addition of forskolin to blowfly salivary glands increased cyclic AMP accumulation and salivary secretion. There was a small increase in transepithelial movement of labelled Ca2+. Forskolin did not induce breakdown of labelled phosphatidylinositol or inhibit the stimulation of phosphatidylinositol breakdown caused by 5-hydroxytryptamine. These data indicate that forskolin can mimic all the effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine on salivary-gland secretion that have been attributed to cyclic AMP.


1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (2) ◽  
pp. 407-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Just ◽  
B Walz

We have studied the effects of 3-hydroxytyramine (dopamine) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) on (1) the rates of salivation from isolated salivary glands of the cockroach Periplaneta americana, (2) the protein content of the saliva, and (3) the ultrastructure of the salivary gland epithelium. The rates of neurotransmitter-induced salivation varied in a dose-dependent manner within the concentration range 10(-9) to 10(-4) mol l-1. Half-maximal secretory rates were induced by 6x10(-7) mol l-1 serotonin and 1.1x10(-7) mol l-1 dopamine. Stimulation of the glands by serotonin resulted in the production of a protein-rich saliva, whereas saliva was protein-free after stimulation by dopamine. Electron microscopic studies revealed that the central cells, which are believed to produce the proteinaceous components of the saliva, secrete their vesicular content after stimulation by 10(-6) mol l-1 serotonin for 20 min. In contrast, no morphological changes could be detected after stimulation by 10(-6) mol l-1 dopamine. These data indicate that dopamine stimulates only the secretion of the fluid component of the saliva, whereas serotonin is necessary to stimulate secretion of the proteinaceous components.


1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 1514-1525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng-Shu Li ◽  
David V. Smith

Li, Cheng-Shu and David V. Smith. Glutamate receptor antagonists block gustatory afferent input to the nucleus of the solitary tract. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 1514–1525, 1997. The effects of excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptor antagonists in blocking the synaptic transmission between gustatory fibers of the chorda tympani (CT) nerve and taste-responsive neurons within the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST) were examined electrophysiologically in urethan-anesthetized hamsters. Single neurons in the NST were recorded extracellularly and drugs were microinjected into the vicinity of the cell with the use of a multibarrel pipette assembly. The activity of each cell was recorded in response to lingual stimulation with 0.032 M NaCl, 0.032 M sucrose, 0.0032 M citric acid, 0.032 M quinine hydrochloride, and/or 25-μA anodal current pulses. Once a cell was identified as a taste-responsive neuron, one or more EAA receptor antagonists were administered by microinjection. Approximately 27 nl of 50 mM kynurenic acid (KYN), a broad-spectrum EAA receptor antagonist; 0.5 or 2.0 mM dl-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV), an N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist; 0.05 or 0.5 mM 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), an α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)/kainate receptor antagonist; or phosphate-buffered physiological saline was applied to the neuron. Responses to chemical stimulation of the anterior tongue were obtained before and after drug administration and again after recovery; responses to anodal current stimulation (0.1 Hz) were obtained continually throughout the drug administration protocol. Microinjection of KYN completely and reversibly abolished responses elicited by both anodal current and chemical stimulation of the anterior tongue. The excitatory responses of cells in the NST to chemical and electrical stimulation of the anterior tongue were also completely and reversibly blocked by CNQX, implicating the involvement of an AMPA/kainate receptor. Microinjection of APV was generally less effective and partially reduced the responses of some taste-responsive NST cells to chemical stimulation of the anterior tongue. There were no effects following microinjection of a 27-nl bolus of phosphate-buffered saline. None of these EAA receptor antagonists had a differential effect on responses to different taste stimuli. The responses to all tastants were completely blocked by both KYN and CNQX; there was no apparent relationship between the response to any particular tastant and the limited effects of APV. These data implicate glutamate as an excitatory neurotransmitter between CT gustatory fibers and taste-responsive NST cells and suggest that it acts primarily on AMPA/kainate receptors, with some contribution from NMDA receptors. This conclusion is strengthened by other data obtained from in vitro slice preparations, which show that responses of cells in the rostral NST to solitary tract stimulation are blocked by both NMDA and AMPA/kainate receptor antagonists.


1960 ◽  
Vol XXXV (II) ◽  
pp. 245-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. van Rees ◽  
F. J. A. Paesi

ABSTRACT In the experiments reported in this paper the hypothesis that the decrease in the pituitary I. C. S. H.-content, which occurs after administration of steroid sex hormones in gonadectomized animals, is counteracted by a reflex stimulation of the hypophysis initiated by the operation has been investigated. If treatment with a low dose of testosterone propionate (100 μg) was started immediately after castration, the resulting decrease in the pituitary I. C. S. H.-content became more marked if the reflex stimulation of the hypophysis had been prevented. If, however, two months were allowed to elapse before the beginning of treatment, the presence or absence of this reflex was no longer of importance for the effect of testosterone propionate on the pituitary I. C. S. H.-content. And yet, in this case too, the decrease in the pituitary I. C. S. H.-content by testosterone propionate was less than in intact animals (see preceding paper). Hence this decrease appears to be counteracted by two factors: one rapidly occurring and short lasting, resulting from a reflex elicited by gonadectomy; the other gradually increasing in potency and possibly a direct consequence of the continued absence of pituitary inhibiting sex steroids.


1977 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 626-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. K. Knox ◽  
S. Kubota ◽  
R. E. Poppele

1. Responses of DSCT neurons to random electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves of the hindleg at group I intensity were studied using cross-correlation analysis of the output spike train with the stimulus. Three types of response were found: type 1 was due to monosynaptic activation of DSCT cells, type 2 resulted from inhibition of those cells, and type 3 was due to a long-latency excitation that was probably polysynaptic. 2. Most of the units studied responded to stimulation of both proximal and distal flexor and extensor nerves. The extensive convergence of afferent input on DSCT cells is much greater than has been observed previously, with type 2 and type 3 responses totaling 80% of the observed responses. We attribute this to the sensitivity of the analysis in detecting small changes in postsynaptic excitability. 3. The results of the study, particularly the derivation of postsynaptic excitability changes, generally confirm those of earlier work employing intracellular recording. 4. By varying stimulus rate and stimulus intensity in the group 1 range and simulating the resulting correlations, we conclude that excitability changes in DSCT cells are the net result of complex interactions involving excitation and inhibition. A summary of these findings is presented as a model for the minimum circuitry necessary to account for the observed behavior.


2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 2984-2997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Jenmalm ◽  
Seth Dahlstedt ◽  
Roland S. Johansson

Most objects that we manipulate have curved surfaces. We have analyzed how subjects during a prototypical manipulatory task use visual and tactile sensory information for adapting fingertip actions to changes in object curvature. Subjects grasped an elongated object at one end using a precision grip and lifted it while instructed to keep it level. The principal load of the grasp was tangential torque due to the location of the center of mass of the object in relation to the horizontal grip axis joining the centers of the opposing grasp surfaces. The curvature strongly influenced the grip forces required to prevent rotational slips. Likewise the curvature influenced the rotational yield of the grasp that developed under the tangential torque load due to the viscoelastic properties of the fingertip pulps. Subjects scaled the grip forces parametrically with object curvature for grasp stability. Moreover in a curvature-dependent manner, subjects twisted the grasp around the grip axis by a radial flexion of the wrist to keep the desired object orientation despite the rotational yield. To adapt these fingertip actions to object curvature, subjects could use both vision and tactile sensibility integrated with predictive control. During combined blindfolding and digital anesthesia, however, the motor output failed to predict the consequences of the prevailing curvature. Subjects used vision to identify the curvature for efficient feedforward retrieval of grip force requirements before executing the motor commands. Digital anesthesia caused little impairment of grip force control when subjects had vision available, but the adaptation of the twist became delayed. Visual cues about the form of the grasp surface obtained before contact was used to scale the grip force, whereas the scaling of the twist depended on visual cues related to object movement. Thus subjects apparently relied on different visuomotor mechanisms for adaptation of grip force and grasp kinematics. In contrast, blindfolded subjects used tactile cues about the prevailing curvature obtained after contact with the object for feedforward adaptation of both grip force and twist. We conclude that humans use both vision and tactile sensibility for feedforward parametric adaptation of grip forces and grasp kinematics to object curvature. Normal control of the twist action, however, requires digital afferent input, and different visuomotor mechanisms support the control of the grasp twist and the grip force. This differential use of vision may have a bearing to the two-stream model of human visual processing.


1987 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Grinstein ◽  
S Cohen

The effect of elevating cytoplasmic Ca2+ [( Ca2+]i) on the intracellular pH (pHi) of thymic lymphocytes was investigated. In Na+-containing media, treatment of the cells with ionomycin, a divalent cation ionophore, induced a moderate cytoplasmic alkalinization. In the presence of amiloride or in Na+-free media, an acidification was observed. This acidification is at least partly due to H+ (equivalent) uptake in response to membrane hyperpolarization since: it was enhanced by pretreatment with conductive protonophores, it could be mimicked by valinomycin, and it was decreased by depolarization with K+ or gramicidin. In addition, activation of metabolic H+ production also contributes to the acidification. The alkalinization is due to Na+/H+ exchange inasmuch as it is Na+ dependent, amiloride sensitive, and accompanied by H+ efflux and net Na+ gain. A shift in the pHi dependence underlies the activation of the antiport. The effect of [Ca2+]i on Na+/H+ exchange was not associated with redistribution of protein kinase C and was also observed in cells previously depleted of this enzyme. Treatment with ionomycin induced significant cell shrinking. Prevention of shrinking largely eliminated the activation of the antiport. Moreover, a comparable shrinking produced by hypertonic media also activated the antiport. It is concluded that stimulation of Na+/H+ exchange by elevation of [Ca2+]i is due, at least in part, to cell shrinking and does not require stimulation of protein kinase C.


1983 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 1443-1450 ◽  
Author(s):  
H A Thompson ◽  
B S Spooner

The proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans synthesized by embryonic mouse salivary glands during normal morphogenesis and in the presence of beta-xyloside, an inhibitor of branching morphogenesis, have been partially characterized. Control and rho-nitrophenyl-beta-D-xyloside-treated salivary rudiments synthesize proteoglycans that are qualitatively similar, based on mobility on Sepharose CL-4B under dissociative conditions and glycosaminoglycan composition. However, beta-xyloside inhibits total proteoglycan-associated glycosaminoglycan synthesis by 50%, and also stimulates synthesis of large amounts of free chondroitin (dermatan) sulfate. This free glycosaminoglycan accounts for the threefold stimulation of total glycosaminoglycan synthesis in beta-xyloside-treated cultures. Several observations suggest that the disruption of proteoglycan synthesis rather than the presence of large amounts of free glycosaminoglycan is responsible for the inhibition of branching morphogenesis. (a) We have been unable to inhibit branching activity by adding large amounts of chondroitin (dermatan) sulfate, extracted from beta-xyloside-treated cultures, to the medium of salivary rudiments undergoing morphogenesis. (b) In the range of 0.1-0.4 mM beta-xyloside, the dose-dependent inhibition of branching morphogenesis is directly correlated with the inhibition of proteoglycan synthesis. The stimulation of free glycosaminoglycan synthesis is independent of dose in this range, since stimulation is maximal even at the lowest concentration used, 0.1 mM. The data strongly suggest that the inhibition of branching morphogenesis is caused by the disruption of proteoglycan synthesis in beta-xyloside-treated salivary glands.


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