Serotonergic Raphe magnus cells that respond to noxious tail heat are not ON or OFF cells

Pharmacological studies have suggested that serotonergic cells in RM contribute to both the inhibition and facilitation of spinal nociceptive transmission. Physiological studies in the medullary nucleus raphe magnus (RM) and adjacent nucleus reticularis magnocellularis have identified putative nociceptive-inhibitory OFF cells and nociceptive-facilitatory neurons ON cells by their responses to noxious thermal stimulation. The present study was designed to determine 1) whether any serotonergic RM cells respond to noxious thermal stimulation and 2) whether noxious heat-responsive serotonergic cells should be classified as ON or OFF cells. Serotonergic cells (n = 150) were identified by physiological criteria in anesthetized rats; 30 of 32 cells tested contained serotonin immunoreactivity. Noxious tail heat elicited a neuronal response in less than a quarter of the serotonergic cells. Most serotonergic cells that responded to tail heat were excited (n = 25), while a small minority of the cells tested were inhibited (n = 8). The tail heat-evoked responses of serotonergic cells were small in magnitude, averaging five to eight spikes in 10 s. Excitatory responses rarely persisted for more than 10 s, while inhibitory responses rarely persisted for more than 20 s. The tail heat-evoked responses of serotonergic cells were compared to those of non-serotonergic cells (n = 186). Non-serotonergic cells that responded to noxious tail heat had significantly greater response magnitudes, averaging 75-95 spikes in 10 s, than heat-responsive serotonergic cells. In addition, most heat-responsive non-serotonergic cells responded for at least 30 s after stimulus onset. These results demonstrate that the tail heat-evoked responses of serotonergic RM cells are qualitatively and quantitatively distinct from those of non-serotonergic ON and OFF cells. It is therefore unlikely that serotonergic RM cells, even the subpopulation that responds to noxious tail heat, share a physiological function with ON and OFF cells.