Journal article
Oxytocin Enhances Cranial Visceral Afferent Synaptic Transmission to the Solitary Tract Nucleus
James H Peters, Stuart J McDougall, Daniel O Kellett, David Jordan, Ida J Llewellyn-Smith, Michael C Andresen
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE | SOC NEUROSCIENCE | Published : 2008
Abstract
Cranial visceral afferents travel via the solitary tract (ST) to contact neurons within the ST nucleus (NTS) and activate homeostatic reflexes. Hypothalamic projections from the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) release oxytocin (OT) to modulate visceral afferent communication with NTS neurons. However, the cellular mechanisms through which OT acts are poorly understood. Here, we electrophysiologically identified second-order NTS neurons in horizontal brainstem slices by their low-jitter, ST-evoked glutamatergic EPSCs. OT increased the frequency of miniature EPSCs in half of the NTS second-order neurons (13/24) but did not alter event kinetics or amplitudes. These actions were blocked by a selec..
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Awarded by National Institutes of Health
Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Overseas Training
Awarded by Wellcome Trust UK
Awarded by NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, AND BLOOD INSTITUTE
Funding Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant HL-58760 (M. C. A.) and Fellowship HL-88894 (J. H. P.); National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Overseas Training C. J. Martin Fellowship # 400405 ( S. J. M.), Project Grant 229907 ( I. J. L.-S.), and Principal Research Fellowship 229921 (I. J. L.-S.); a Biomedical Research Collaboration grant from the Wellcome Trust UK, 067996/Z/02/Z (D. J. and I. J. L.-S.); and the British Heart Foundation ( D. J., D. O. K.). We thank Carolyn Martin, Natalie Fenwick, and Lee Travis for invaluable technical assistance. We would like to specifically acknowledge the efforts of Prof. Dave Jordan, who passed away before the publication of this work.