Neonatal pre-ganglionic sympathectomy affects morphometrically defined architecture in rat cerebral arteries

In order to clarify further the nature of the long-term influence on the cerebral vasculature by the sympathetic nerves, a bilateral cervical pre-ganglionic denervation was performed in 1-week-old rats. Four weeks later, morphometric determinations of the vascular dimensions revealed diminished media cross-sectional areas and luminal radii in the middle cerebral and posterior cerebral arteries, whereas these parameters were unaffected in the basilar artery. In the latter artery, however, a 40% increase in the cross-sectional area of the internal elastic membrane was found. No re-innervation of the denervated ganglia occurred during the course of the experiment. The results suggest that the long-term effect exerted by the sympathetic nerves is associated with the nerve activity, rather than being a true trophic influence.