Prolonged unit responses in thalamic reticular, ventral, and posterior nuclei following lateral hypothalamic and midbrain reticular stimulation

Abstract

In unanesthetized postcollicular cerveau isolé rats, prolonged responses over 10 sec periods following intracranial stimulation (0.2 sec, 100 Hz, 0.5 msec, 600 μA cathodal pulses) were studied with extracellular recordings of 150 nucleus reticularis and 122 ventral and posterior thalamic units. After medial forebrain bundle (MFB) or midbrain reticular (RET) stimulation, most nucleus reticularis units showed significantly decreased firing, and the MFB and RET effects converged on 64%. None was excited. In ventral and posterior thalamus, however, long-lasting unit responses were mixed. MFB and RET stimuli elicited significantly increased firing in 17% and 20% of the units, respectively, and decreased firing in 21% and 16%, respectively. Convergence of MFB- and RET-elicited responses occurred in 25% of the cells, but none showed convergence of opposite responses which might reflect believed motivational differences between the stimuli. Similar stimuli delivered to ventral medial thalamus evoked pronounced excitation of nucleus reticularis discharge, contrasting the MFB and RET effects and confirming previous reports by others. The substantial responses elicited by MFB and RET stimuli in nucleus reticularis fulfill previously proposed criteria for definition of an arousal dimension in terms of single cell activity. The similarity of MFB and RET effects in the posterior nucleus of thalamus raises questions regarding its role in nociception.