Vagal sensory neurones directly synapse onto parasympathetic motor (DMV) neurones

Abstract

Abstract: Autonomic reflexes, controlling unconscious processes such as heart rate and digestion, are essential for homeostasis. Vago-vagal reflexes describe one category of autonomic reflexes in which the sensory input and motor output are both mediated through the vagus nerve. These reflexes are widely considered to rely on the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) for the integration of sensory information before regulating the motor output from the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV). Here, we electrically activated the solitary tract to evoke sensory input simultaneous to whole cell recordings of DMV neurones. Criteria around measures of synaptic jitter, amplitude variance and paired ..