title: Involvement of reticular neurons located dorsal to the facial nucleus in activation of the jaw-closing muscle in rats.
abstract: The location of excitatory premotor neurons for jaw-closing motoneurons was examined by the use of electrical and chemical stimulation and extracellular single-unit recording techniques in the anesthetized rat. Single-pulse electrical stimulation of the supratrigeminal region (SupV) and the reticular formation dorsal to the facial nucleus (RdVII) elicited masseter EMG response at mean (+/-SD) latencies of 2.22 +/- 0.59 ms and 3.10 +/- 1.14 ms, respectively. Microinjection (0.1-0.3 microl) of glutamate (50 mM) or kainate (0.5-100 microM) into RdVII increased masseter nerve activity in artificially ventilated and immobilized rats by 30.2 +/- 40.5% and 50.7 +/- 46.8% compared to baseline values, respectively. Forty reticular neurons were antidromically activated by stimulation of the ipsilateral trigeminal motor nucleus (MoV). Twenty neurons were found in RdVII, and the remaining 20 neurons were located in SupV, or areas adjacent to SupV or RdVII. Eleven neurons in RdVII responded to at least either passive jaw opening or light pressure applied to the teeth or tongue. Nine neurons responded to passive jaw opening. Five of the nine neurons responded to multiple stimulus categories. A monosynaptic excitatory projection from one neuron in RdVII was detected by spike-triggered averaging of the rectified masseter nerve activity. We suggest that reticular neurons in RdVII are involved in increasing masseter muscle activity and that excitatory premotor neurons for masseter motoneurons are likely located in this area. RdVII could be an important candidate for controlling activity of jaw-closing muscles via peripheral inputs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Showa University School of Dentistry, Tokyo 145-8515, Japan.
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takamatsu
authors.forename: Tomio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Masayoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsuruoka
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suganuma
authors.forename: Ryoichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Furuya
authors.forename: Tadaharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawawa
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D007568:Jaw / Q000502:physiology*; D007608:Kainic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D008410:Masticatory Muscles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D012154:Reticular Formation / Q000166:cytology*; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical; D014278:Trigeminal Nuclei / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D007608:Kainic Acid