DISTRIBUTION OF CORTICAL FIBERS AND FOS IMMUNOREACTIVE NEURONS IN VENTROLATERAL MEDULLA AND IN NUCLEUS-TRACTUS-SOLITARIUS FOLLOWING THE MOTOR CORTEX STIMULATION IN THE RAT

The present study demonstrates that the motor cortex (MC) stimulation induces expression of Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) in the rostro-ca udal parts of ventrolateral medulla (VLM) and nucleus tractus solitari us (NTS). The coupling of biotinylated dextran (BD) injections with th e MC stimulation also permits to identify cortical labeled fibers in t he vicinity of FLI neurons in the VLM. Results suggest that the MC is involved in a direct and an indirect modulation of bulbar cardiovascul ar nuclei. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights rese rved.