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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Feb 27.
Published in final edited form as: J Comp Neurol. 2014 Feb 15;522(3):499–513. doi: 10.1002/cne.23464

Figure 7. (In)activity-related differences in morphology of dendrites and cell bodies of bulbospinal catecholaminergic RVLM neurons based on rostrocaudal position.

Figure 7

Morphological differences between TH-positive, CTB-positive RVLM neurons from sedentary and active rats depended on the position of the neurons relative to the facial nucleus (FN). Each section analyzed was 150 micrometers thick and section FN0 contained the caudal pole of FN. Equal numbers of CTB/TH neurons were reconstructed in eight consecutive sections of the ventrolateral medulla from both groups (i.e. 9.6 ± 0.2 vs. 9.2 ± 0.4 neurons/section in sedentary versus physically rats, respectively). A, In sedentary rats, TH-positive, CTB-positive RVLM neurons had increased branching in sections from 300 micrometers caudal to 450 micrometers rostral of FN0. B, In both groups, cell body size of TH-positive, CTB-positive RVLM neurons was slightly larger in the most rostral section compared to other sections. C, There was no difference in the number of primary dendrites at any level. *, p<0.05, individual differences between sedentary and active animals. #, p<0.05, main effect of rostrocaudal level on soma area.