Nitric oxide as a modulator of medullary pathways

Abstract

1. The present study has employed in vitro electrophysiology and chemical neuroanatomy to determine whether nitric oxide (NO) could be considered a modulator at neurons involved in medullary cardiovascular control pathways. 2. The NO donor diethylamine-NO caused concentration-related depolarizations of the rat isolated nodose ganglion preparation that were sensitive to blockade by inhibitors of soluble guanylate cyclase. 3. Incubation of rat medulla oblongata sections (50 microns) with a polyclonal antibody to NO synthase (NOS) revealed a topographic network of NOS-containing neurons. Specifically, NOS-positive neurons were found throughout the entire rostral-caudal axis of the nucleus tract..