Nucleus prepositus hypoglossi. A medullary pressor region.

Electrical stimulation of fibers of passage through the fastigial nucleus increases arterial pressure. To identify nuclei that may project through the pressor region of the fastigial nucleus, we injected the retrograde tracer fast blue unilaterally at confirmed pressor sites in the nucleus. In seven rats, we found dense fluorescent labeling bilaterally in the external cuneate, lateral reticular, medial vestibular, and caudal prepositus hypoglossi nuclei, and contralaterally in the inferior olivary nucleus. There had been no reports of a cardiovascular role for the nucleus prepositus hypoglossi; thus, we sought to determine if electrical or chemical stimulation of that nucleus or the adjacent medial vestibular nucleus altered arterial pressure or heart rate in 24 anesthetized rats. Both types of stimuli to the caudal, but not the rostral, pole of the nucleus prepositus hypoglossi or to the medial vestibular nucleus elicited an increase in arterial pressure; bradycardia accompanied the former and tachycardia the latter. Both the nucleus prepositus hypoglossi and medial vestibular nucleus may participate in central cardiovascular regulation.