The cortico-thalamic connections and the nucleus reticularis thalami (nRt) have gained much attention lately because of their integrative and modulatory functions. This particular architecture has been thought to perform analysis and synthesis of memories, work as active blackboards or a global workspace, or gate attention and give rise to consciousness. In this paper, I show that this circuitr...

The anatomical substrate and behavioral pharmacology of stimulation-produced analgesia resulting from electrical stimulation of the pontomesencephalic nucleus cuneiformis (NCF) was determined in the present study. Maximum increase in nociceptive tail-flick latencies following NCF stimulation occurred during the first 5 min post stimulation and decreased afterwards. The increased reflex latency ...

Introduction: Beside its autonomic functions, the nucleus paragigantocellularis lateralis (LPGi) is involved in the descending pain modulation. 17β-Estradiol is a neuroactive steroid found in several brain areas such as LPGi. Intra-LPGi microinjection of 17β-estradiol can elicit the analgesic responses. 17β-Estradiol modulates nociception by binding to estrogenic receptors as wel...

In rats which were rendered monocular amblyopic by lid suturing one eye during a critical period, the intensity of neuronal activation in parts of the monocular segments of the striate cortex (layers 4 and 6) and lateral geniculate nucleus, and in the visual segment of the thalamic reticular nucleus, was determined after exploration of a novel-complex environment. Quantitative analysis of the n...

In this study the effect of adenosine and caffeine on spontaneous activity of paragigantocellularis (PGi) neurons was investigated. The spontaneous activity of PGi neurons was significantly decreased by microinjection of adenosine (10 nM, 0.5 µl) into PGi nucleus of both control and morphine-dependent rats. The decrease in firing rate of PGi neurons of morphine-dependent rats was greater than t...

Effects of anticonvulsants were determined on thalamic afterdischarge in gallamine-immobilized cats and d-tubocurarine-immobilized rats in order to clarify the participation of anticonvulsants in the thalamus. Thalamic afterdischarge was induced by electrical stimulation of cat nucleus centralis lateralis and rat nucleus reticularis at 50 Hz, 1 msec for 4 sec. In cats, diphenylhydantoin, carbam...

A population of reticulospinal neurons with short latency response to startle-inducing stimuli was identified in the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis (NRPC) and nucleus gigantocellularis (NRGC) of the medial pontomedullary reticular formation. The threshold and magnitude of response to auditory stimuli was correlated in these cells and in the muscles mediating startle. Startle-related neuron...