Authors
Daiki Masukawa, Yuka Nakao, Haruhiko Bito, Toshihide Yamashita, Yuki Fujita, Natsuki Matsushita, Kayo Nishizawa, Kazuto Kobayashi, Takeshi Tokudome
Published in
Journal of pharmacological sciences. Volume 162. Issue 3. Pages 197-205. Epub Aug 27, 2026.
Abstract
The baroreflex plays an important role in maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis. Although the central pathways mediating baroreflex responses have been characterized, the mechanisms underlying modulation of vagal afferent signaling remain incompletely understood. We hypothesized that a neural circuit involving the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV), a brainstem parasympathetic nucleus, contributes to vagally mediated cardiovascular responses. To examine the anatomical and functional relationship between the nodose ganglion of the vagus (NGV) and the DMV, we assessed cardiovascular responses to vagal afferent stimulation and performed neuronal tracing analyses. Vagal afferent stimulation increased c-Fos expression in the DMV. Denervation of cholinergic neurons in the DMV attenuated depressor and bradycardic responses to vagal stimulation. Anatomical evidence suggests reciprocal projections between the NGV and DMV, including glutamatergic inputs to the DMV and cholinergic fibers derived from the DMV within the NGV. Carbachol administration into the NGV induced depressor and bradycardic responses, which were abolished by atropine and attenuated by blockade of glutamatergic signaling in the DMV. These findings support the presence of a putative NGV-DMV pathway and indicate that cholinergic neurons in the DMV contribute to vagally mediated cardiovascular responses. This putative pathway may represent a previously unrecognized mechanism contributing to autonomic cardiovascular regulation.
PMID:
42810776
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 30 Sep 2026.
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