Dorsomedial medulla stimulation activates rat supraoptic oxytocin and vasopressin neurones through different pathways.

1. This study utilized retrograde anatomical tracer techniques and in vivo extracellular electrophysiological studies to examine caudal ventrolateral and dorsomedial medulla afferents to supraoptic nucleus neurosecretory neurones in male Long‐Evans rats. 2. In one series of experiments, pentobarbitone‐anaesthetized animals were subjected to ventral exposure of the hypothalamus and rhodamine‐tagged latex microspheres (0.05‐0.2 microliter) were injected into one supraoptic nucleus. Following perfusion with paraformaldehyde‐glutaraldehyde 18‐24 h later, cell counts were obtained of rhodamine‐ and/or catecholamine‐labelled neurones in the caudal ventrolateral and dorsomedial medulla both ipsi‐ and contralateral to the injection site. 3. In the caudal ventrolateral medulla, each injection labelled fewer than 15% of the catecholaminergic neurones; with small injections, most (68‐100%) of the rhodamine‐labelled neurones also displayed catecholamine histofluorescence. In the caudal nucleus tractus solitarii, one‐half to one‐third as many rhodamine‐labelled cells were observed, but a higher percentage (13‐100%) of these were non‐catecholaminergic. 4. Extracellular recordings were obtained from antidromically identified supraoptic neurones classified as vasopressin (n = 106) or oxytocin (n = 26) secreting. Single cathodal pulses (0.2 ms duration, 0.02‐0.08 mA) applied in the caudal half of the ipsilateral nucleus tractus solitarii evoked a transient (30‐50 ms) activation of 63% of both vasopressin‐ and oxytocin‐secreting neurones. Mean latencies (+/‐ S.E.M.) for vasopressin and oxytocin cells were 49.8 +/‐ 1.0 and 46.5 +/‐ 2.4 ms respectively; these were not significantly different. Similar responses were noted to contralateral stimuli applied to four vasopressin and two oxytocin cells. 5. Vasopressin neurones activated by caudal nucleus tractus solitarii stimulation displayed similar patterns of response to stimulation in the caudal ventrolateral medulla. However, latencies from the nucleus solitarius (mean 47.6 +/‐ 1.4 ms; n = 59) were significantly longer (P less than 0.05) than from the ventrolateral medulla (41.5 +/‐ 2.0 ms; n = 17). In eight out of eleven vasopressin neurones tested, interruption of synaptic transmission through the ventrolateral medulla reduced or abolished the caudal nucleus tractus solitarii‐evoked excitation but had no effect on their response to baroreceptor activation. This manoeuvre affected zero out of five oxytocin cells similarly excited by nucleus solitarius stimulation. 6. These observations indicate that visceral input mediated through the nucleus tractus solitarii is transmitted differentially to supraoptic vasopressin‐ and oxytocin‐secreting neurones.