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Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Studying the Coding Profiles of Somatic Stimulation on Cardiac-locked Neuronal Responses in the Rat Spinal Dorsal Horn
Published on: May 23, 2025
Esophagocardiac convergence onto thoracic spinal neurons: comparison of cervical and thoracic esophagus
Chao Qin1, Margaret J Chandler, Robert D Foreman
1Department of Physiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, P.O. Box 26901, Oklahoma City, OK 73190, USA. chao-quin@ouhsc.edu
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to characterize thoracic spinal neurons receiving convergent inputs from the esophagus, heart and somatic receptive fields. Extracellular potentials of single T3-T4 spinal neurons were recorded in pentobarbital anesthetized male rats. Thoracic and cervical esophageal distensions (TED, CED) were produced by water inflation of a latex balloon. A catheter was placed in the pericardial sac to administer bradykinin or a mixture of algogenic chemicals. 96/311 (31%) neurons responded to both TED and intrapericardial chemicals (IC) and 48/177 (27%) neurons responded to both CED and IC. Long-lasting excitatory responses were more frequently encountered (P<0.05) in esophagocardiac spinal neurons responding to TED (T-ECSNs, 62/91) than in neurons responding to CED (C-ECSNs, 23/47). Ninety-one percent of T-ECSNs and 98% of C-ECSNs had somatic fields on chest, axilla and upper back areas. Esophagocardiac convergence on thoracic spinal neurons provided a spinal mechanism that might mediate viscerovisceral nociception and reflexes.
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