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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Location, Dissection, and Analysis of the Murine Stellate Ganglion
Published on: December 22, 2020
Selective activation of the sympathetic ganglia by centrally administered corticotropin-releasing factor in rats
Daisuke Usui1, Naoko Yamaguchi-Shima, Shoshiro Okada
1Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8505, Japan; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8505, Japan.
Abstract:
The sympathetic efferent pathway projects to the sympathetic ganglia and the adrenal medulla. In this study, we examined centrally administered corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-induced neuronal activation of noradrenergic postganglionic neurons in several kinds of the sympathetic ganglia (superior cervical, stellate and celiac ganglia) in anesthetized rats. CRF significantly increased c-Fos expression in the celiac and stellate ganglia, with more pronounced effect on the celiac ganglion. On the other hand, CRF had no effect on c-Fos expression in the superior cervical ganglion even at a higher dose. These results suggest that brain CRF selectively regulates neuronal activity of each sympathetic ganglion.
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