Topolovec Jane C, Gati Joseph S, Menon Ravi S, Shoemaker J Kevin, Cechetto David F
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada.
J Comp Neurol. 2004 Apr 12;471(4):446-61. doi: 10.1002/cne.20033.
The reflex control and relay to higher brain sites of visceral sensory information within the central nervous system is mediated via discrete sites in the brainstem. Anatomical characterization of these sites in humans has been limited due to the invasive nature of such research. The present study employed 4 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to characterize brainstem sites involved in autonomic control in the human. Eight subjects performed tasks that activate the general visceral (the isometric hand-grip, maximal inspiration, Valsalva maneuver) or special visceral sensory systems (sucrose administration to the tongue). Activation of the nucleus of the solitary tract and parabrachial nucleus was consistently observed with all general visceral tasks. Periaqueductal gray area activation was observed during the maximal inspiration and Valsalva maneuver conditions and raphe activation was present in response to isometric hand-grip and maximal inspiration tasks. The activation in the nucleus of the solitary tract was consistently more rostral in the medulla during sucrose administration than during performance of the other experimental tasks. This finding is consistent with what has been previously demonstrated in animals. This is the first study to image the human brainstem with respect to visceral control and demonstrates the feasibility of using high-resolution fMRI to study the functional organization of the human brainstem.
中枢神经系统内内脏感觉信息向高级脑区的反射控制及中继是通过脑干中的离散位点介导的。由于此类研究具有侵入性，对人类这些位点的解剖学特征描述有限。本研究采用4特斯拉功能磁共振成像（fMRI）来表征人类自主控制中涉及的脑干位点。8名受试者执行了激活一般内脏（等长握力、最大吸气、瓦尔萨尔瓦动作）或特殊内脏感觉系统（向舌部给予蔗糖）的任务。所有一般内脏任务均持续观察到孤束核和臂旁核的激活。在最大吸气和瓦尔萨尔瓦动作条件下观察到导水管周围灰质区域激活，而中缝核激活则出现在等长握力和最大吸气任务中。在给予蔗糖期间，孤束核在延髓中的激活始终比在执行其他实验任务时更靠前。这一发现与先前在动物身上所证实的一致。这是第一项关于内脏控制对人类脑干进行成像的研究，并证明了使用高分辨率fMRI研究人类脑干功能组织的可行性。
