Trigeminal projections to the nucleus submedius of the thalamus in the rat.

Methods involving the anterograde and retrograde transport of wheat-germ agglutinin conjugated horseradish peroxidase and the retrograde transport of Fluoro-Gold were used in rats to examine the distribution within the spinal trigeminal nucleus of trigeminal neurons projecting to the nucleus submedius (Sm) of the thalamus, as well as the distribution of axon terminals within the Sm. Following injections into the trigeminal nucleus, axon terminals were seen in the dorsal part of the anterior Sm; the terminals occurred bilaterally but had an obvious contralateral dominance. To help determine the precise location of the Sm-petal neurons, the border between trigeminal subnuclei interpolaris and caudalis was examined by the use of immunohistochemical procedures for calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). The Sm-petal neurons that were labeled retrogradely occurred only at the caudal interpolaris and rostral caudalis levels; the number of labeled neurons on the contralateral side was approximately six times that on the ipsilateral side. Most of these neurons were located in the ventral part of the caudal interpolaris and rostral caudalis and spinal trigeminal tract; in caudalis, the neurons were almost exclusively localized to its superficial layers. There were approximately three times more labeled neurons in interpolaris than in caudalis. In the experiments combined with immunohistochemistry for CGRP, many neurons (34%) were seen in proximity to CGRP-like immunopositive fibers. These results suggest that the Sm of the rat receives its orofacial afferent inputs from brainstem neurons that are localized to the caudal interpolaris and rostral caudalis. In view of previous studies that have implicated these three structures in somatosensory function, and in particular nociception, our data point to a role for this direct projection from interpolaris and caudalis to Sm in the central processing of pain.