Synaptic transmission of baro- and chemoreceptors afferents in the NTS second order neurons

Second order neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) process and integrate the afferent information from arterial baroreceptors with high fidelity and precise timing synaptic transmission. Since 2nd-order NTS neurons receiving baroreceptors inputs are relatively well characterized, their electrophysiological profile has been accepted as a general characteristic for all 2nd-order NTS neurons involved with the processing of different sensorial inputs. On the other hand, the synaptic properties of other afferent systems in NTS, such as the peripheral chemoreceptors, are not yet well understood. In this context, in previous studies we demonstrated that in response to repetitive afferents stimulation, the chemoreceptors 2nd-order NTS neurons also presented high fidelity of synaptic transmission, but with a large variability in the latency of evoked responses. This finding is different in relation to the precise timing transmission for baroreceptor 2nd-order NTS neurons, which was accepted as a general characteristic profile for all 2nd order neurons in the NTS. In this brief review we discuss this new concept as an index of complexity of the sensorial inputs to NTS with focus on the synaptic processing of baro- and chemoreceptor afferents.