Serotonin and substance P afferents to parafascicular and central medial nuclei. |
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Authors: | L J Sim S A Joseph |
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Institution: | Neuroendocrine Unit, University of Rochester School of Medicine, NY 14642. |
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Abstract: | Potent analgesia is elicited by electrical stimulation of the periaqueductal gray (PAG), dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and intralaminar thalamus. Horseradish peroxidase conjugated wheat germ agglutinin (HRP-WGA) was stereotaxically pressure injected into the parafascicular (PF) or central medial (CM) nucleus to identify brainstem afferents to the intralaminar thalamus. WGA-immunoreactive (-ir) neurons were identified in the DRN, PAG and lateral dorsal tegmentum (LDTg) after PF and CM injections. Many retrogradely labeled cells in the DRN and ventral PAG were also serotonin-ir, and a portion of WGA-ir cells in the LDTg were substance P-ir. These results substantiate previous studies implicating the intralaminar thalamus and periaqueductal region, as well as serotonin and substance P, in antinociception. |
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