Peptides in the parabrachial nucleus modulate visceral input to the thalamus

The role of neuropeptides in ascending visceral pathways was investigated by recording the changes in the response of thalamic neuronal activity evoked by vagal stimulation before and after peptide injection in the parabrachial nucleus (PB). Male Wistar rats (n = 25) were anesthetized with chloral hydrate and ventilated, and blood pressure and heart rate were continuously monitored. The left cervical vagus nerve was stimulated at submaximal current intensities to elicit changes in single and multiunit activity in the parvocellular visceral relay nuclei in the ventral basal thalamus. Peristimulustime histograms of thalamic activity were made before and after 200-nl injections of peptides or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) controls in the PB. Injection of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) at 5 mM or substance P (SP) at 2 mM into the PB significantly attenuated the evoked response of thalamic neuronal activity by 87-100% and 85-100%, respectively. Injections of somatostatin (SOM; 1 mM) did not significantly alter the response evoked by vagal stimulation but significantly inhibited the spontaneous firing of thalamic units, resulting in a 10-fold increase in the response-to-background ratio. This suggests that SOM in the PB inhibits cells in a parallel pathway that terminates on thalamic visceral neurons but that are not part of the ascending visceral sensory pathway. Spontaneous thalamic neuronal activity and vagally evoked responses were significantly enhanced (278-508%) by injection of 1 mM neurotensin (NT) in the PB. Cholecystokinin (CCK) at low doses (0.0002-0.2 mM) attenuated while the highest dose, 2 mM, briefly excited the spontaneous activity of thalamic units before inhibiting their activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)