Localization of the stomach-projecting neurons in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve in the guinea pig

Abstract

The medullary origin of cells of the cervical vagus nerve and the vagal innervation of the stomach in the guinea pig were studied using the retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase. The horseradish peroxidase was injected into the cervical portion of the vagus nerve, and also into the greater or lesser curvature of the stomach. The animals were perfused with fixative two days after the injection. The medulla oblongata containing the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve was sectioned and processed histochemically with the tetramethyl benzidine method. The injection of horseradish peroxidase in the cervical vagus nerve resulted in heavy retrograde labelling of neurons in the ipsilateral dorsal motor nucleus and in the nucleus ambiguus. Following the injection of horseradish peroxidase into the greater curvature of the stomach, the stomach-projecting neurons which were bilaterally labelled were localized in the dorsal and dorsolateral part of the dorsal motor nucleus. Although also bilaterally labelled in the dorsal and dorsolateral part of the dorsal motor nucleus, the neurons projecting to the lesser curvature of the stomach were predominantly (approx. 70%) located in the left dorsal motor nucleus. Our study suggests that the parasympathetic preganglionic neurons innervating the greater and lesser curvatures of the stomach are organized viscerotopically in the dorsal motor nucleus in the guinea pig.