Chrobok Lukasz, Wojcik Michal, Klich Jasmin Daniela, Pradel Kamil, Lewandowski Marian Henryk, Piggins Hugh David
Department of Neurophysiology and Chronobiology, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Front Physiol. 2021 Mar 2;12:638695. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.638695. eCollection 2021.
Phasic pattern of neuronal activity has been previously described in detail for magnocellular vasopressin neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei. This characteristic bistable pattern consists of alternating periods of electrical silence and elevated neuronal firing, implicated in neuropeptide release. Here, with the use of multi-electrode array recordings , we aimed to study the firing pattern of neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) - the brainstem hub for homeostatic, cardio-vascular, and metabolic processes. Our recordings from the mouse and rat hindbrain slices reveal the phasic activity pattern to be displayed by a subset of neurons in the dorsomedial NTS subjacent to the area postrema (AP), with the inter-spike interval distribution closely resembling that reported for phasic magnocellular vasopressin cells. Additionally, we provide interspecies comparison, showing higher phasic frequency and firing rate of phasic NTS cells in mice compared to rats. Further, we describe daily changes in their firing rate and pattern, peaking at the middle of the night. Last, we reveal these phasic cells to be sensitive to adrenergic receptors activation and to respond to electrical stimulation of the AP. This study provides a comprehensive description of the phasic neuronal activity in the rodent NTS and identifies it as a potential downstream target of the AP noradrenergic system.
先前已详细描述过下丘脑室旁核和视上核中巨细胞血管加压素神经元的神经元活动的相位模式。这种典型的双稳态模式由电静息期和神经元放电增强期交替组成，与神经肽释放有关。在此，我们利用多电极阵列记录，旨在研究孤束核（NTS）中神经元的放电模式，NTS是参与稳态、心血管和代谢过程的脑干枢纽。我们从小鼠和大鼠后脑切片获得的记录显示，在最后区（AP）下方的背内侧NTS中的一部分神经元呈现出相位活动模式，其峰峰间期分布与报道的相位性巨细胞血管加压素细胞的分布非常相似。此外，我们进行了种间比较，结果显示与大鼠相比，小鼠的相位性NTS细胞具有更高的相位频率和放电率。此外，我们还描述了它们放电率和模式的每日变化，在午夜达到峰值。最后，我们发现这些相位性细胞对肾上腺素能受体激活敏感，并对AP的电刺激有反应。本研究全面描述了啮齿动物NTS中的相位性神经元活动，并将其确定为AP去甲肾上腺素能系统的潜在下游靶点。
