[Effect of the vestibular nuclei of the medulla oblongata on the serotoninergic system function of the brain and small intestine in the rat]

Abstract

In alert adult female Wistar albino rats, high-frequency stimulation of the Deiters' nuclei with biphasic square pulses via implanted electrodes evoked a significant increase in the serotonin (5-HT) content in the cerebellum, hypothalamus and hippocampus, and a decrease in the striatum with a parallel increase of 5- hydroxiindolacetic acid (5-HIAA) level in the cerebellum, thalamus and spinal cord and its decrease in the parietal cortex. Destruction of the vestibular nuclei, conversely, produced a decrease in the 5-HT content in the hypothalamus, medulla oblongata and spinal cord, as well as 5-HIAA in the thalamus and did not affect the contents of these substances in other areas of the CNS. In contrast to the brain, the duodenum and ileum revealed no considerable changes in the 5-HT or 5-HIAA contents under both influences.