Projections from the vestibular nuclei and nucleus prepositus hypoglossi to dorsal raphe nucleus in rats

The serotonergic system regulates processing in components of the vestibular nuclear complex, including the medial vestibular nucleus (MVe) and nucleus prepositus hypoglossi (PH). Recent studies using anterograde and retrograde tracers have shown that vestibular nuclei are targeted by regionally selective projections from the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus. The objective of the present investigation was to determine whether the DRN is targeted by projections from the vestibular nuclear complex in rats, using the anterograde tracer biotinylated dextran amine (BDA). After injection of BDA into PH or the caudal parvicellular division of MVe, labeled fibers and terminals were observed in the ventromedial and lateral subdivisions of DRN. These findings indicate that projections from the vestibular nuclei and PH are organized to modulate processing within specific functional domains of the DRN.