Zhang X, Fogel R, Renehan W E
Division of Gastroenterology, Henry Ford Health Sciences Center, Detroit, Michigan 48202, USA.
J Comp Neurol. 1995 Dec 4;363(1):37-52. doi: 10.1002/cne.903630105.
This study employed single cell recording and intracellular iontophoretic injection techniques to characterize and label gastric- and/or intestine-sensitive neurons in the rat nucleus of the solitary tract (NST). It was possible to divide our sample of NST neurons into three broad groups based on their response to increased intra-gastric and intra-duodenal pressure. Group 1 cells (N = 14) were excited by duodenal distention but were not responsive to gastric stimulation. Most of these intestine-sensitive neurons exhibited a delayed tonic response to the stimulus. Group 2 neurons (N = 13) were excited by gastric distention but were not sensitive to distention of the duodenum. The typical Group 2 neuron evidenced a rapid, phasic response to the distention stimulus. Group 3 neurons (N = 29) responded to both gastric and duodenal stimulation. We found that the Group 2 neurons had greater dendritic length and more dendritic branch segments than the Group 1 or Group 3 neurons. Most of the Group 1 neurons were found in the subpostremal/commissural region of the NST, while the majority of the Group 2 neurons were in the gelatinous subnucleus and a disproportionate number of the Group 3 neurons were located in the medial subnucleus. The results of this investigation demonstrate that 1) there are relationships between the morphology and physiology of distention-sensitive neurons in the NST, and 2) there are distinct functional differences between the gelatinous, medial and commissural subnuclei of this nucleus.
本研究采用单细胞记录和细胞内离子电泳注射技术，对大鼠孤束核（NST）中对胃和/或肠敏感的神经元进行特征描述和标记。根据对胃内和十二指肠内压力升高的反应，可将我们的NST神经元样本分为三大类。第1组细胞（N = 14）受到十二指肠扩张的兴奋，但对胃刺激无反应。这些对肠敏感的神经元大多对刺激表现出延迟的紧张性反应。第2组神经元（N = 13）受到胃扩张的兴奋，但对十二指肠扩张不敏感。典型的第2组神经元对扩张刺激表现出快速的相位反应。第3组神经元（N = 29）对胃和十二指肠刺激均有反应。我们发现，第2组神经元的树突长度和树突分支段比第1组或第3组神经元更多。第1组神经元大多位于NST的后极下/连合区，而第2组神经元大多位于胶状亚核，第3组神经元中不成比例的数量位于内侧亚核。本研究结果表明：1）NST中对扩张敏感的神经元的形态与生理之间存在关联；2）该核的胶状、内侧和连合亚核之间存在明显的功能差异。
