Functional role of anterior cingulate gyrus in the control of micturition reflex

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The micturition reflex is controlled by a complex hierarchy of the central nervous system. Additionally, anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG) neurons could have an important role in micturition control based on animal physiological and human functional neuroimaging studies. Extracellular levels of glutamate, serotonin, and dopamine were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Glutamate and dopamine levels significantly increased during micturition reflex induced by saline infusion, whereas serotonin levels did not change in ACG. When acetic acid was infused (cystitis status), marked increases in glutamate levels were observed. Serotonin levels also significantly increased in such overatcivebladder rat model. ACG is a higher brain region that sends its projection to the pontine micturition center, which is a key brain region controlling the micturition reflex.