Projections from the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray to endocrine regulatory subdivisions of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in the rat

N S Floyd; K A Keay; C M Arias; P E Sawchenko; R Bandler

doi:10.1016/s0304-3940(96)13240-7

Projections from the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray to endocrine regulatory subdivisions of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in the rat

Neurosci Lett. 1996 Dec 13;220(2):105-8. doi: 10.1016/s0304-3940(96)13240-7.

Authors

N S Floyd¹, K A Keay, C M Arias, P E Sawchenko, R Bandler

Affiliation

¹ Department of Anatomy and Histology, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

PMID: 8981484
DOI: 10.1016/s0304-3940(96)13240-7

Abstract

The ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) mediates quiescence, hyporeactivity, hypotension and bradycardia, a pattern of response evoked by injury or social defeat. These stimuli also evoke increased levels of vasopressin (VP) and adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). A key central nervous system (CNS) locus mediating endocrine changes is the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH). We investigated the extent of vlPAG projections to PVH. Anterograde tracer injections into the vlPAG, revealed 'terminal' label in: (1) the medial, dorsal, anterior and lateral parvicellular divisions, and (2) lateral and medial posterior magnocellular divisions of the PVH. Deposits of the retrograde tracer Fast Blue, verified the projection to the PVH arising from the vlPAG.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Behavior, Animal
Heart Rate
Male
Neural Pathways
Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / cytology*
Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / physiology
Periaqueductal Gray / cytology*
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Grants and funding

HL-35137/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United States