Abstract
Local microinjection of met-enkephalin into both the nucleus reticularis paragigantocellularis (Pgc) and into the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) altered the spontaneous discharge of many nociresponsive units in the nucleus raphe magnus (NRM) of the urethane-anesthetized rat. The activity of the majority of units (11 of 14) was suppressed following microinjections into both the PAG and Pgc. Two units showed an increase in spontaneous activity after PAG microinjections and a decrease after Pgc microinjections. One cell showed a decrease in activity after microinjection into Pgc and was unaffected by the PAG microinjection. These findings demonstrate that many nociresponsive units in NRM are affected by microinjections of met-enkephalin into both Pgc and the PAG, indicating a convergent influence of these two regions on single NRM neurons.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 165-173 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | International Journal of Neuroscience |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 3-4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1987 |
Funding
Supported in part by NIH grants GM23696 and DE07905. I thank Mary Heinricher for indispensable help with data collection, analysis, and presentation.
Keywords
- Met-enkephalin
- Raphe magnus
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience