Spinal and trigeminal dorsal horn projections to the parabrachial nucleus in the rat

Abstract

We studied afferents to the parabrachial nucleus (PB) from the spinal cord and the spinal trigeminal nucleus pars caudalis (SNVc) in the rat by using the anterograde and retrograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP). Injections of WGA-HRP into medial PB retrogradely labeled neurons in the promontorium and in lamina I of the dorsal rostral SNVc, while injections into lateral PB and the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus retrogradely labeled neurons in these areas as well as in lamina I throughout the caudal SNVc and spinal dorsal horn. Injections of WGA-HRP into the caudal SNVc and dorsal horn of the spinal cord resulted in terminal labeling in the dorsal, central, and external lateral subnuclei of PB and the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus, all of which are known to receive cardiovascular and respiratory afferent information. Injections of WGA-HRP into the promontorium and dorsal rostral SNVc resulted in terminal labeling in the same PB subnuclei, as well as in the medial and the ventral lateral PB subnuclei, which are sites of relay for gustatory information ascending from the medulla to the forebrain. The spinal and trigeminal projection to PB may mediate the convergence of pain, chemosensory, and temperature sensibilities with gustatory and cardiorespiratory systems in PB.