Hypothalamic neuron projection to autonomic preganglionic levels related with glucose metabolism: a fluorescent labelling study in the rat.

The location of hypothalamic paraventricular neurons projecting to sympathetic preganglionic levels and related to the autonomic regulation of various organs involved in glucose metabolism (OGM) was determined by ipsilateral injections of two fluorescent tracers, Diamidino Yellow into the left dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus and Fast Blue into the left intermediolateral cell column of the T8-T9 spinal cord. Hypothalamospinal neurons were mainly located in the dorsal part of the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVH) and the hypothalamobulbar neurons were most abundant in the ventral, medial and extreme lateral parts of the PVH. No double-labelled neurons were found in the hypothalamus. These results can help the knowledge of the neural hypothalamic network related with the autonomic hypothalamic control.