Abstract
Effects of electrically stimulating the left stellate ganglion to activate cardiopulmonary sympathetic afferent (CPSA) fibers were determined on C1-C3 dorsal horn neurons in anaesthetized rats. Fifty-two of 53 dorsal horn neurons affected by CPSA stimulation were excited and one neuron was inhibited. In 6 experiments, dorsal columns and ventrolateral funiculi were sequentially lesioned to determine neuronal pathways involved in CPSA activation of C1-C3 neurons. In 6 additional experiments, spinal transection at rostral C1 was used to determine the contribution of supraspinal relays. We concluded that CPSA input to C1-C3 segments travelled bilaterally in ventrolateral pathways, and that supraspinal relays were not required for CPSA excitation of C1-C3 neurons. These results suggest that neurons in C1-C3 segments might play an important role in processing visceral spinal afferent information.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 25-30 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Brain Research |
Volume | 771 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 10 Oct 1997 |
Keywords
- Referred pain
- Spinal cord lesions
- Ventrolateral funiculus
- Visceral nociception
- Viscerosomatic convergence