Effects of parabrachial stimulation on angiotensin and blood pressure sensitive area postrema neurons

Subpopulations of neurons in the area postrema (AP) and commissural nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) have been identified according to their responses to systemic angiotensin-II (ANG-II) and increases in blood pressure (BP). In order to further define the functional connections of these subpopulations of cells, electrophysiological single unit recording studies have been done to determine the orthodromic effects of parabrachial nucleus (PBN) stimulation on these functionally defined cell groups. Orthodromic effects were seen in a similar proportion of ANG-II sensitive neurons in the AP (31.5%) and NTS (31%). PBN stimulation influenced a similar percentage of BP sensitive neurons in the AP (35%), although a larger proportion of this group of NTS cells was affected (55.5%). Twenty-five percent of ANG-II/BP sensitive neurons in the AP were orthodromically influenced, and 71.5% of this group of NTS neurons were affected by PBN stimulation. Small proportions of the neurons in the unaffected subpopulation of AP (10%) and NTS (27%) were also orthodromically affected by PBN stimulation. The remaining neurons in each group were not affected. This study suggests that there is no apparent preferential distribution of excitatory or inhibitory PBN efferents to any of the identified subpopulations of AP and NTS neurons.