The intermediolateral cell column (IML) of the spinal cord is an important area where sympathetic impulses propagate to peripheral sympathetic organs. ANG II and aldosterone are important components of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), which activate the sympathetic nervous system. Each is partly synthesized in the brain and plays a paracrine role in the regulation of blood press...

Background: Most research on autonomic dysfunction of diabetes mellitus is conducted on ganglions innervating gastrointestinal (GI) tract and there are limited works focusing on cervical sympathetic ganglia. The effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on the neurons of superior cervical sympathetic ganglion (SCSG) are investigated by stereological methods. Material and Methods: Female rats (n=72) ran...

To determine whether differential sympathetic nerve responses to hypoxia are explained by opposing effects of hypoxia upon sympathetic premotor neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), the cardiac sympathetic nerve and the renal sympathetic nerve were recorded in anesthetized and vagotomized rabbits. Renal sympathetic nerve was activated by the injection of sodium cyanide solution c...

1. Teased-fiber recordings were made from the axons of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in rats that underwent transection of the sciatic nerve 4-22 days previously. Many of the neurons had spontaneous ectopic discharge originating from within the DRG. 2. When postganglionic sympathetic efferents ending in the DRG were activated by tetanic stimulation of the T13 and L1 ventral roots (VRs), th...

To determine whether the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) plays a role in naturally occurring neuronal death, we examined neonatal sympathetic neurons that express both the TrkA tyrosine kinase receptor and p75NTR. When sympathetic neuron survival is maintained with low quantities of NGF or KCl, the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which does not activate Trk receptors o...

The segmental organization of midthoracic rat and chicken sympathetic preganglionic neurons was examined by retrograde labeling in vivo and in vitro. The results demonstrate that individual sympathetic preganglionic neurons project only rostrally or caudally within the sympathetic chain, even though the spinal segment in which they reside provides innervation to both rostral and caudal ganglia....

The ability of immature neurons from chick lumbosacral sympathetic ganglia to proliferate in vitro was used to identify factors that affect neurogenesis. Under serum-free culture conditions, insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), IGF-II, or insulin caused an increase in the proportion of cells that incorporated [3H]thymidine. In addition, IGFs also stimulated neurite outgrowth from these immatur...

Neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) is perhaps the still most enigmatic member of the neurotrophin family. We show here that NT-4 is expressed in neurons of paravertebral and prevertebral sympathetic ganglia, i.e., the superior cervical (SCG), stellate (SG), and celiac (CG) ganglion. Mice deficient for NT-4 showed a significant reduction (20-30%) of preganglionic sympathetic neurons in the intermediolateral ...

Sympathetic preganglionic neurons receive direct, monosynaptic input from a series of well defined nuclei in the brainstem and the hypothalamus. These premotor cell groups coordinate sympathetic control with ongoing endocrine and behavioral response. However, it is not known precisely which populations of sympathetic premotor neurons are activated during specific responses, such as fever after ...