title: The caudal ventrolateral medulla is a source of tonic sympathoinhibition.
abstract: The caudal ventrolateral medulla (CVLM) contains neurons that are essential for the elaboration of the sympathoinhibitory effects of baroreceptor afferent stimulation. To determine if neurons in the CVLM also mediate a tonic inhibition of sympathetic nerve activity (SNA), we examined the effects of lesioning CVLM neurons in baroreceptor-denervated rats. The sustained increases in both arterial pressure (AP; 40 mmHg) and splanchnic SNA (200%) indicate that the discharge of neurons in the CVLM maintains a tonic sympathoinhibition that contributes significantly to the maintenance of normotensive levels of SNA and AP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Cravo
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Morrison
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017704:Baroreflex / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D003714:Denervation; D007608:Kainic Acid; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D007608:Kainic Acid