Neuronal activation in the forebrain following electrical stimulation of the cuneiform nucleus in the rat: Hypothalamic expression of c-fos and NGFI- A messenger RNA

Abstract

Forebrain neuronal connections associated with the cardiovascular response to unilateral, low-intensity, electrical stimulation of the mesencephalic cuneiform nucleus were examined in the halothane-anaesthetized and paralysed rat by in situ hybridization histochemistry using specific S- labelled oligonucleotides for detection of c-fos and nerve growth factor inducible-A gene (NGFI-A) messenger RNAs. Stimulation of the cuneiform nucleus led to increases in mean arterial pressure and heart rate, whereas no cardiovascular response was observed in animals stimulated in the inferior colliculus or in sham-operated animals [see concurrent mid- and hindbrain study [Lam W. et al. (1996) Neuroscience ..