Distribution of cortical fibers and Fos immunoreactive neurons in ventrolateral medulla and in nucleus tractus solitarius following the motor cortex stimulation in the rat

Abstract

The present study demonstrates that the motor cortex (MC) stimulation induces expression of Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) in the rostro-caudal parts of ventrolateral medulla (VLM) and nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). The coupling of biotinylated dextran (BD) injections with the MC stimulation also permits to identify cortical labeled fibers in the vicinity of FLI neurons in the VLM. Results suggest that the MC is involved in a direct and an indirect modulation of bulbar cardiovascular nuclei.