Journal of the autonomic nervous system
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J. Auton. Nerv. Syst. · Dec 1994
Neuronal expression of Fos protein in the rat brain after baroreceptor stimulation.
The purpose of this study was to identify the CNS neurons that express Fos protein after repeated activation of the baroreceptor reflex. This was done in Wistar rats anesthetized with urethane and alpha-chloralose with careful physiological controls. The intact control rat showed few Fos-immunoreactive (ir) neurons, whereas the anesthetized control rat showed many Fos-ir neurons in the CNS from the medulla oblongata to the forebrain. ⋯ No significant correlation was found in the humoral control nuclei in the preoptico-hypothalamic structure. Fos expression was never detected in the sensory neurons in the ganglia petrosum and nodosum, and in the sympathetic preganglionic neurons in the intermediolateral nucleus of the thoracic spinal cord. This study shows that Fos expression in the CNS neurons is induced not only by baroreceptor stimulation but also by anesthesia and/or sham-operation, and that Fos expression in the NTSm and PAG neurons faithfully responds to baroreceptor stimulation.