ABSTRACT
Serotonin, and Histamine ................................................... 60 3.5 Future Directions............................................................................................ 60 Acknowledgment ..................................................................................................... 61 References................................................................................................................ 61
Synaptic processing in the NST has been extensively studied using neurophysiological, immunocytochemical, and microinjection techniques. Numerous neurotransmitters and neuromodulators have been shown to be involved in the nongustatory NST,1-3 but studies of neurotransmitters involved in the rostral NST are more limited.4-6 Because the NST extends over a considerable rostral-caudal distance and investigators restrict their analyses to a particular function of the NST (e.g., cardiovascular control or taste processing), descriptions are often limited to a region of the NST responsible for that function. Moreover, it is not always possible, when investigators use coronal sections, to determine if the rostral NST was studied (see, for example, Ambalavanar et al., 1998 and Saha et al., 2001)7,8 even though the title of the report implies that the whole NST is being investigated. When investigators use horizontal sections of the entire extent of the NST, differences in neurotransmitter distribution become evident (see Davis and Jang, 1988).9 Thus, even though numerous neurotransmitters or neuromodulators have been shown to be involved in NST processing, closer examination of these publications reveals that they are limited primarily to caudal nongustatory NST.
