Valentino R J, Pavcovich L A, Hirata H
Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University, Philadelphia 19102, USA.
J Comp Neurol. 1995 Dec 18;363(3):402-22. doi: 10.1002/cne.903630306.
The present study used anterograde and retrograde tract tracing and immunohistochemistry to determine the efferent projections of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons of Barrington's nucleus in the rat. Injections of Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin into Barrington's nucleus resulted in anterograde labeling in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, periaqueductal gray, medial thalamic nuclei, lateral hypothalamus, paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, lateral preoptic area, and lateral septum. The retrograde tract tracer, fluorogold, injected into the lumbosacral spinal cord labeled many, but not all, CRH-immunoreactive neurons in Barrington's nucleus. Moreover, some Barrington's neurons that were retrogradely labeled from the spinal cord were not CRH-immunoreactive. Several CRH-immunoreactive Barrington's neurons were retrogradely labeled by fluorogold injections into the periaqueductal gray, and these were located predominantly in the dorsal part of the nucleus. Additionally, some CRH-immunoreactive Barrington's neurons were retrogradely labeled from fluorogold injections into the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus. In contrast, fluorogold injections into the lateral hypothalamus, lateral preoptic area, or lateral septum did not result in double labeling of CRH-immunoreactive neurons in Barrington's nucleus. These results suggest that many, but not all, CRH-containing neurons of Barrington's nucleus project to the lumbosacral spinal cord. In addition to their previously documented projections to the spinal cord, these neurons may be a source of CRH in the periaqueductal gray and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus. CRH projections of Barrington's nucleus may play a role in behavioral or autonomic aspects of stress responses, in addition to their proposed role in micturition.
本研究采用顺行和逆行示踪技术以及免疫组织化学方法，以确定大鼠Barrington核中促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素（CRH）神经元的传出投射。将菜豆白细胞凝集素注射到Barrington核中，结果在迷走神经背运动核、导水管周围灰质、丘脑内侧核、下丘脑外侧区、下丘脑室旁核、视前外侧区和外侧隔出现顺行标记。将逆行示踪剂荧光金注射到腰骶脊髓中，标记了Barrington核中许多但并非全部的CRH免疫反应性神经元。此外，一些从脊髓逆行标记的Barrington神经元并非CRH免疫反应性。将荧光金注射到导水管周围灰质中，逆行标记了几个CRH免疫反应性Barrington神经元，这些神经元主要位于核的背侧部分。此外，一些CRH免疫反应性Barrington神经元从荧光金注射到迷走神经背运动核中被逆行标记。相比之下，将荧光金注射到下丘脑外侧区、视前外侧区或外侧隔中，并未导致Barrington核中CRH免疫反应性神经元的双重标记。这些结果表明，Barrington核中许多但并非全部含CRH的神经元投射到腰骶脊髓。除了先前记录的投射到脊髓外，这些神经元可能是导水管周围灰质和迷走神经背运动核中CRH的来源。Barrington核的CRH投射除了在排尿中所起的作用外，可能在应激反应的行为或自主方面发挥作用。
