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The Journal of Neuroscience, October 29, 2003, 23(30):9770-9775

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Development/Plasticity/Repair
Spontaneous Functional Viscerosensory Regeneration into the Adult Brainstem

Matt S. Ramer

International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z4

The dorsal root entry zone of the vagus nerve (vDREZ) is uniquely characterized by peripheral tissue insertions (PTIs) deep to the brainstem surface, consisting of Schwann cells and a reticulum of astrocytic processes. Because Schwann cells permit peripheral axonal regeneration, the capacity of vagal medullary PTIs to allow centripetal regeneration of visceral afferents after vagal dorsal rhizotomy in adult rats was investigated. The present work shows that vagal axons spontaneously regenerate into appropriate and ectopic brainstem nuclei. They accomplish this by first growing along PTIs but then extend along basal laminas of medullary blood vessels. Electrically stimulated regenerated vagal afferents induced Fos expression (indicating functional connectivity) within appropriate but not ectopic nuclei. The unique structure of the vDREZ can thus support spontaneous functional regeneration of visceral primary afferent axons into the adult CNS.

Key words: vagus nerve; Schwann cells; functional regeneration; synaptogenesis; axon guidance; autonomic nervous system

Received June 4, 2003; revised September 4, 2003; accepted September 5, 2003.






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