Elsevier

Neuroscience Letters

Volume 280, Issue 1, 11 February 2000, Pages 45-48
Neuroscience Letters

Micturition and defensive behaviors are controlled by distinct neural networks within the dorsal periaqueductal gray and deep gray layer of the superior colliculus of the rat

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3940(99)00985-4Get rights and content

Abstract

Electrical stimulation of the dorsal periaqueductal gray (DPAG) or the deep gray layer of the superior colliculus (DGSC) of rats placed in an open-field elicited either a display of tense immobility, accompanied by exophthalmus and/or defecation and micturition, or running and jumping responses. Threshold curves of each response were obtained for each structure by the logistic fitting of accumulated response frequencies. DPAG and DGSC threshold curves were compared by likelihood-ratio coincidence tests. The output of micturition was significantly higher following the stimulation of DPAG (P<0.0005). In contrast, no differences were found for the remaining responses. These data support previous studies in anaesthetized cats suggesting the critical involvement of DPAG in the control of micturition. Furthermore, they also suggest that topographically distinct neural networks within the DPAG and DGSC control micturition and the other defensive behaviors.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by research grants from CNPq, FACITEC and FINEP. L.C. Vargas and T.A. Marques were recipients of CNPq master degree and undergraduate research fellowships, respectively.

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