Blood pressure regulation by C1 neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla: new light on the subject.

摘要

Thirty-five years ago two papers were published that were to have a profound impact on our understanding of the central mechanisms regulating blood pressure. In one of these papers, Guertzenstein & Silver (1974) reported that bilateral application of the inhibitory amino acid glycine to a discrete region on the ventrolateral surface of the rostral part of the medulla oblongata in anaesthetized cats resulted in a very large fall in blood pressure. Since glycine inhibits neuronal cell bodies but does not affect fibres of passage, these observations indicated that there are neurons, located close to the ventrolateral surface of the rostral medulla, that provide a tonic excitatory drive to the spinal sympathetic outflow which maintains a normal level of resting blood pressure.