Neurons in the parafacial lateral region control the cardiovascular function of non-anesthetized rats.

The respiratory cycle at rest presents an active inspiratory phase, while expiration is a passive process. Active expiration is recruited under increased respiratory demand, resulting in an essential compensatory mechanism for increasing ventilation. Several studies have demonstrated that neurons in the lateral parafacial region (pFL) are important in generating active expiration and the simultaneous sympatho-excitation in response to increased respiratory demand, such as hypercapnia/acidosis and hypoxia. Besides, hypertensive animals present sympathetic overactivity and active expiration. However, the involvement of the pFL neurons in the control of cardiovascular function is still unknown. Herein, we hypothesized that the activation of pFL neurons increases the arterial pressure and heart rate of rats.