Neurochemicals Involved in Medullary Control of Common Carotid Blood Flow

作者：Gong Chi Li; Leung Yuk Man; Wang Ming Ren; Lin Nai Nu; Lee Tony Jer Fu; Kuo Jon Son^*

来源：Current Neuropharmacology, 2013, 11(5): 513-520.

DOI：10.2174/1570159X113119990044

• Carotid artery
• Cerebral blood flow
• Medulla
• Parasympathetic nucleus
• Vascular regulation
• Neurotransmitter

The common carotid artery (CCA) supplies intra- and extra-cranial vascular beds. An area in the medulla controlling CCA blood flow is defined as the dorsal facial area (DFA) by Kuo et al. in 1987. In the DFA, presynaptic nitrergic and/or glutamatergic fibers innervate preganglionic nitrergic and/or cholinergic neurons which give rise to the preganglionic fibers of the parasympathetic 7th and 9th cranial nerves. Released glutamate from presynaptic nitrergic and/or glutamatergic fibers can activate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptors on preganglionic nitrergic and/or cholinergic neurons. By modulating this glutamate release, several neurochemicals including serotonin, arginine, nitric oxide, nicotine, choline and ATP in the DFA regulate CCA blood flow. Understanding the neurochemical regulatory mechanisms can provide important insights of the physiological roles of the DFA, and may help develop therapeutic strategies for diseases involving CCA blood flow, such as migraine, hypertensive disease, Alzheimer%26apos;s disease and cerebral ischemic stroke.

• 出版日期2013-9
• 单位中国医科大学