Possible mechanisms of involvement of the amygdaloid complex in the control of gastric motor function

Electrophysiological and neuroanatomical experiments on Wistar rats were performed to study the mechanisms of the modulatory influences of the amygdaloid nuclei on reflex motor activity in the stomach. Electrical stimulation of the central nucleus was accompanied by reproducible changes in the ongoing motor activity of the stomach in activity evoked by activation of the vagovagal reflex arc. The most marked, and predominantly inhibitory, effects were seen in response to stimulation of the medial part of the nucleus. Microinjections of the anterograde neuron marker Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) into the central nucleus of the amygdala revealed the existence of direct descending projections from its dorsomedial part to the area containing cells of the vagosolitary complex, associated with performance of the vagovagal reflexes of the stomach. Electrical stimulation of this part of the central nucleus led to changes in neuron responses in the bulbar "gastric" center evoked by stimulation of the vagus nerve. These features may underlie one of the mechanisms of the amygdalar modulation of the reflex activity of the stomach.