Visceral afferent and efferent connections in the brain

Behavioral and physiological studies have revealed increasing evidence in thirst, hunger, energy and water metabolism for the importance of visceral input to the brain as well as central modulation of visceral events. Recent work in our laboratory has now revealed some new information about the central course of these afferent and efferent systems. From our work and others there is now good evidence that the bed of the hepatic-portal system contains sodium and osmoreceptors. Our electrophysiological and histochemical studies show that one branch overlaps the gustatory pathway. That is, involves the vagus nerve, nucleus tractus solitarius, parabrachial nucleus and ventro-basal thalamus (VBC). Another branch goes not to VBC but to the supra-optic nucleus. At the one level so far investigated clear evidence was obtained for convergence on single cells of visceral and gustatory inputs. It may well occur at other levels. A parallel and perhaps interacting efferent system more related to energy regulation has also been explored. The major parasympathetic output to the viscera are the axons of the brain stem dorsal-motor nucleus (DMV) forming the vagus nerves. We have shown that the paraventricular nucleus, which was known to project to DMV, is the only structure above the brain stem that has a direct input to DMV. However, since the nucleus of the solitary tract and reticular formation send fibers to the DMV the neural substrate exists for considerable indirect input. The significance of these results is that it provides a central neural substrate of the 2-way pathways linking brain and viscera. Thus, we now know more about neural control mechanisms involved in several motivational and metabolic systems. The close contiguity and even convergence of gustatory and visceral afferents may help to explain taste-aversion learning and alterations in the hedonics of taste under different nutritional states. The unique place of the paraventricular nucleus in relation to parasympathetic efferents will doubtless lead to new knowledge of the role of the brain in control of energy metabolism.