Role of ventrolateral medulla in regulation of respiratory and cardiovascular systems

Abstract

It is now widely accepted that the ventrolateral aspect of the medulla oblongata (VLM) plays an important role in regulation of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. The VLM has been implicated as being involved in a number of different physiological functions, including central chemoreception, integration of afferent inputs from certain sense organs to the respiratory and cardiovascular controllers, the source of excitatory input to preganglionic sympathetic neurons in the spinal cord, and location of synaptic relay between the higher brain defense areas and spinal cord sympathetic elements. In recent years there have been a number of important findings concerning both the anatomical substrate and neurophysiological characteristics of VLM neurons involved in regulation of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. New anatomical findings show that neuronal networks located in the VLM send projections to and receive projections from brain stem nuclei that have traditionally been associated with respiratory and cardiovascular regulation. Nevertheless, there are still many important questions concerning the role of the VLM in control of these vital systems that have yet to be answered. For instance, are the same VLM neurons involved in control of both systems? Is the VLM the only site for central respiratory chemoreception? This review will endeavor to examine new findings and to reexamine some older findings concerning the VLM.