Trigeminal nerve stimulation-induced c-Fos expression in trigeminal spinal nucleus

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The aim of the present study was to investigate whether electrical stimulation of the unilateral central cut ends of lingual nerve produces an trigeminal-parasympathetic reflex vasodilatation in both sides of the lower lips and stimulate neurons in the trigeminal nuclear complex in the artificially ventilated, cervically vagosympathectomized rats deeply anesthetized with urethane. Immunohistochemical detection of c-Fos expression was used to assess the impact of prolonged lingual nerve stimulation. It was found that the unilateral lingual nerve stimulation at 10 min intervals for 200 min (i)elicited consistent blood flow increases predominantly in the ipsilateral side of the lower lip when stimulated, (ii)evoked the more profound expression of c-Fos protein ipsilaterally in all subnuclei of trigeminal spinal nucleus except trigeminal subnucleus oralis, (iii)induced the greater number of c-Fos positive neurons in the ipsilateral trigeminal subnucleus interpolaris/caudalis transition zon … More e compared with the four other areas (trigeiminal subnucleus caudalis/upper cervical spinal cord transition zone, subnucleus caudalis, subnucleus interpolaris, subnucleus oralis) of trigeminal spinal nucleus, and (iv)did not induce a statistical significant increase in the number of c-Fos expression in all subnucleus of the trigeminal spinal nucleus of the contralateral side in comparison with the control rats. These results suggest that urethane can be useful for the investigation of the simultaneous measurements of the trigeminal-parasympathetic reflex vasodilatation and the c-Fos expression following the lingual nerve stimulation. The present studies together with our previous data, it is suggested that impulse elicited by electrical stimulation of the lingual nerve converge on the ipsilateral trigeminal subnucleus interpolaris/caudalis transition zone in the trigeminal spinal nucleus and the parasympathetic vasodilator neurons, salivatory nucleus, after receiving projection from the trigeminal subnucleus interpolaris/caudalis transition zone in the trigeminal spinal nucleus, project to the lower lip via the otic ganglion. Less