title: Activity of medullary serotonergic neurons in freely moving animals.
abstract: In the mammalian brain, serotonergic neurons in the medulla (n. raphe magnus, obscurus, and pallidus) send dense projections into the spinal cord, especially to the dorsal horn, intermediolateral column, and ventral horn. We have conducted a series of studies examining the single unit activity of these neurons in behaving cats. The experiments were directed at determining whether changes in unit activity were related to pain (n. raphe magnus), autonomic activity (n. raphe obscurus and pallidus), or motor activity (n. raphe obscurus and pallidus). The strongest relationship was between neuronal activity and motor output, especially tonic and repetitive motor activity. We hypothesize that the primary functions of this motor-related activity are to facilitate motor output, suppress processing of some forms of afferent activity, and to coordinate autonomic functioning with the current motor demand.
authors.affiliation: Program in Neuroscience, Green Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. barryj@princeton.edu
authors.forename: Barry L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Martín-Cora
authors.forename: Casimir A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Fornal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D018763:Muscle Fatigue / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin