Functional and spatial characterization of glutamatergic sympathetic interneurons in vestibular autonomic funciton
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Londono, Camilo Jubino
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Abstract
Recent evidence suggests spinal interneurons may play a significant role in transmitting vestibular information to sympathetic preganglionic neurons. While these neurons are intriguing in their role in vestibulosympathetic circuitry, their polyinput nature may provide a route to target intact intraspinal connections following spinal cord injury. Thus, the value of studying spinal interneurons lies in the aim to understand the processing of supraspinal vestibular information and the potential to target their intraspinal inputs for targeted therapy following spinal cord injury. Research into rostrocaudal and ventrolateral variations in the vestibulosympathetic circuit as well as the varying types and weights of input sources is work not previously done. Thus, to further understand the circuitry in muscle blood flow regulation, our goal is to further characterize the activity and organization of excitatory SINs. Following the conduction and analysis of our experiments, it appears that the descending vestibulosympathetic preferentially recruits glutamatergic interneurons within the central & ventral regions of the T10 spinal cord, particularly the intermediate region. Based on these findings, excitatory INs of the DHd may not be critical to vestibulosympathetic control. However, whether these trends hold true for inhibitory interneurons remains to be tested.
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Undergraduate Thesis