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The caudal ventrolateral medulla is a source of tonic sympathoinhibition
1Department of Physiology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Brain Research
|September 3, 1993
Abstract:
The caudal ventrolateral medulla (CVLM) contains neurons that are essential for the elaboration of the sympathoinhibitory effects of baroreceptor afferent stimulation. To determine if neurons in the CVLM also mediate a tonic inhibition of sympathetic nerve activity (SNA), we examined the effects of lesioning CVLM neurons in baroreceptor-denervated rats. The sustained increases in both arterial pressure (AP; 40 mmHg) and splanchnic SNA (200%) indicate that the discharge of neurons in the CVLM maintains a tonic sympathoinhibition that contributes significantly to the maintenance of normotensive levels of SNA and AP.