title: Regional haemodynamic responses to activation of the medial prefrontal cortex depressor region.
abstract: Electrical or chemical stimulation of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) produces depressor and sympathoinhibitory responses. To characterise the MPFC depressor response more fully, we determined the regional haemodynamic changes which occurred in response to stimulation of the MPFC. In halothane-anaesthetised rats, we recorded arterial blood pressure and renal, superior mesenteric, and iliac arterial vascular conductance using miniaturised Doppler flow probes. Electrical stimulation of the MPFC (50-100 microA) was used to map the location of the depressor region. Increases in vascular conductance (or increases in blood flow) were recorded from the renal (+2.3+/-0.5 kHz/mmHgx10(3)), mesenteric (+4.4+/-0.4 kHz/mmHgx10(3)), and iliac (+8.3+/-1.0 kHz/mmHgx10(3)) vascular beds in response to stimulation of the MPFC depressor region coinciding with the ventral infralimbic (IL) and dorsal peduncular (DP) cortical areas. Similar responses were obtained after microinjection of the chemical excitant L-glutamate (n=3, 100 nl, 100 mM), indicating that the responses were due to excitation of cell bodies and not due to axons traversing the area. Administration of the nitric oxide synthesis inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 25 micromol/kg, i.v., n=5) significantly reduced the MPFC depressor response (51%, 12.5+/-1.2 to 6.1+/-2.5 mmHg). The increases in conductance in the hindquarter and mesenteric vascular beds were significantly reduced after L-NAME treatment (mesenteric by 77%, iliac by 70%), but there was no significant reduction of renal flow (35%). These observations indicate that the depressor region of the MPFC is localised to ventral regions (IL and DP) and that the depressor response is mediated by increased conductance in the hindquarters and mesenteric vascular beds. Furthermore, the depressor response may be mediated, in part, by release of nitric oxide in these vascular beds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Unit, Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre, University of Melbourne, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Owens
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Verberne
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D004525:Efferent Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D007083:Iliac Artery / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012018:Reflex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013152:Splanchnic Circulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester