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Periaqueductal gray matter modulates the hypercapnic ventilatory response

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Abstract

The periaqueductal gray (PAG) is a midbrain structure directly involved in the modulation of defensive behaviors. It has direct projections to several central nuclei that are involved in cardiorespiratory control. Although PAG stimulation is known to elicit respiratory responses, the role of the PAG in the CO2-drive to breathe is still unknown. The present study assessed the effect of chemical lesion of the dorsolateral and dorsomedial and ventrolateral/lateral PAG (dlPAG, dmPAG, and vPAG, respectively) on cardiorespiratory and thermal responses to hypercapnia. Ibotenic acid (IBO) or vehicle (PBS, Sham group) was injected into the dlPAG, dmPAG, or vPAG of male Wistar rats. Rats with lesions outside the dlPAG, dmPAG, or vPAG were considered as negative controls (NC). Pulmonary ventilation (Ve), mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and body temperature (Tb) were measured in unanesthetized rats during normocapnia and hypercapnic exposure (5, 15, 30 min, 7 % CO2). IBO lesioning of the dlPAG/dmPAG caused 31 % and 26.5 % reductions of the respiratory response to CO2 (1,094.3 ± 115 mL/kg/min) compared with Sham (1,589.5 ± 88.1 mL/kg/min) and NC groups (1,488.2 ± 47.7 mL/kg/min), respectively. IBO lesioning of the vPAG caused 26.6 % and 21 % reductions of CO2 hyperpnea (1,215.3 ± 108.6 mL/kg/min) compared with Sham (1,657.3 ± 173.9 mL/kg/min) and NC groups (1,537.6 ± 59.3). Basal Ve, MAP, HR, and Tb were not affected by dlPAG, dmPAG, or vPAG lesioning. The results suggest that dlPAG, dmPAG, and vPAG modulate hypercapnic ventilatory responses in rats but do not affect MAP, HR, or Tb regulation in resting conditions or during hypercapnia.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), INCT-Fisiologia Comparada. Luana Tenorio Lopes was the recipient of a FAPESP scholarship. We would like to thank Aretuza Capalbo Carregari, Euclides R. Seccato, and Daoud Hibraim Elias Filho for excellent technical assistance.

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  1. Department of Animal Morphology and Physiology, São Paulo State University—(UNESP FCAV), Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil

    Luana T. Lopes, Luis G. A. Patrone, Kênia C. Bícego & Luciane H. Gargaglioni

  2. Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Neuropsychobiology, Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Av. dos Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14049-900, Brazil

    Norberto C. Coimbra

  3. Departamento de Morfologia e Fisiologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Via de acesso Paulo Donato Castellane s/n, 14870-000, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil

    Luciane H. Gargaglioni

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Lopes, L.T., Patrone, L.G.A., Bícego, K.C. et al. Periaqueductal gray matter modulates the hypercapnic ventilatory response. Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol 464, 155–166 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-012-1119-6

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