Neurons in the caudal ventrolateral medulla mediate the arterial baroreceptor reflex by inhibiting barosensitive reticulospinal neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla in rabbits.

Participation of the caudal ventrolateral medulla in the arterial baroreceptor reflex was examined in urethane-anesthetized, vagotomized and immobilized rabbits whose aortic nerve was cut bilaterally. The extent of the caudal ventrolateral medulla was mapped by decreases in the renal sympathetic nerve activity and arterial pressure following a local microinjection of a neuroexcitatory amino acid, sodium glutamate (0.075-1.5 nmol). It extended between the levels 1.3 mm rostral and 3.0 mm caudal to the obex. An injection of sodium glutamate into the caudal ventrolateral medulla also diminished spontaneous activity of barosensitive reticulospinal neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla. In the 'split medulla preparation' in which the medulla was split along the midsagittal plane to disrupt fiber connections associating both sides, a neurotoxic agent, kainic acid, was injected unilaterally into the rostral ventrolateral medulla. This treatment markedly attenuated responses of renal sympathetic nerve activity and arterial pressure induced by a sodium glutamate injection into the ipsilateral caudal ventrolateral medulla, whereas responses to an injection into the contralateral caudal ventrolateral medulla were totally preserved. In four separate experiments, three to five injections of kainic acid were made unilaterally to cover the whole extent of the caudal ventrolateral medulla. The sympathoinhibitory and depressor responses to stimulation of the ipsilateral aortic nerve were then totally abolished. Simultaneously, the cardiac cycle-related rhythmic fluctuation of renal sympathetic nerve activity, which represented activity of the carotid sinus baroreceptor reflex, was attenuated to the noise level. These results, together with our previous electrophysiological demonstration of barosensitive caudal ventrolateral medulla neurons with axonal projections to the rostral ventrolateral medulla, strongly support the hypothesis that neurons in the caudal ventrolateral medulla mediate the arterial baroreceptor-vasomotor reflex through inhibition of barosensitive reticulospinal neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla.