Sympathoinhibition from ventrolateral periaqueductal gray mediated by the caudal midline medulla

Abstract

Activation of neurons in the ventrolateral region of the periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) can elicit a decrease in renal sympathetic nerve activity and blood pressure. The present study investigated whether the vlPAG-evoked sympathoinhibitory response depends on neurons in the caudal midline medulla (CMM). In pentobarbital-anesthetized rats, activation of neurons in the vlPAG evoked a decrease in renal sympathetic nerve activity to 29.4 ± 4.8% below baseline levels and arterial blood pressure fell 8.9 ± 1.6 mmHg ( n = 20). Microinjection of the GABA agonist muscimol into sympathoinhibitory regions of the CMM significantly attenuated the vlPAG-evoked sympathoinhibition to 17.9 ± 4.1% below baseline and the depressor response to 4.3 ± 1.2 mmHg. At 65% (13/20) of the sites examined, the vlPAG-evoked sympathoinhibition was responsive to CMM muscimol microinjection and attenuated from 34.2% to 11.5%, with the depressor response reduced from 14.8 to 3 mmHg. Microinjection of muscimol at the remaining 35% of the CMM sympathoinhibitory sites was ineffective on the vlPAG-evoked sympathoinhibition and depressor response. These data indicate that sympathoinhibitory and hypotensive responses elicited by activation of neurons in the vlPAG can be mediated by neurons in the sympathoinhibitory region of the CMM. The finding that the vlPAG-evoked response is not affected by muscimol at all CMM sympathoinhibitory sites also suggests that sympathoinhibitory sites in the CMM are not homogeneous and can mediate functionally different responses.