Brainstem origins and projections of the cervical and abdominal vagus in the golden hamster: a horseradish peroxidase study.

Vagal afferent projections, and preganglionic parasympathetic neurones contributing to the vagus nerve in golden hamsters were traced following application of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to the proximal end of the cervical or abdominal nerve stump. Efferents in the cervical vagus were traced to their perikarya or origin in the dorsal motor nucleus (DMN) of the vagus, the commissural gray of the cervical spinal cord, the nucleus ambiguus, the nucleus of the accessory spinal nerve (NASN), and in the ventral horn dorsolateral to the NASN. Perikarya in the NASN and the region dorsolateral to it did not contribute efferent fibres to the abdominal vagus. In the remaining cell groups, fewer labelled perikarya were labelled in the abdominal cases than in the cervical cases. Extraperikaryal labelling (presumptive terminals) in the cervical cases was seen primarily in the nucleus of the solitary tract. A modest distribution of extraperikaryal grains was also noted along the inner rim of the area postrema and the ventral border of the DMN. Anterograde labelling was sparser and had a more restricted distribution in the abdominal cases. A detailed description of brainstem pathways of vagal efferent and afferent fibres is provided, as is a comparison of the present observations with those in similar studies of other species.