Vomiting center
The vomiting center is a functional center in the brain that is located in the brain stem . It includes parts of the reticular formation , the area postrema and the nucleus tractus solitarii .
physiology
The vomiting center coordinates the act of vomiting via a reflex arc . Numerous neural interconnections, some of which are very complex and not yet understood, are involved. The vomiting center receives afferents from the cerebral cortex (sense of smell, psyche), the cerebellum , the equilibrium organ and from the gastrointestinal tract via the vagus nerve and is mainly activated by the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin . Furthermore, the vomiting center stands above the area postrema , a circumventricular organ, in direct contact with the blood and detects dissolved toxins. These afferents reflect the stimuli that can lead to vomiting, among other things.
The vomiting center sends efferents to the smooth and striated muscles , which are involved in the reflex interconnection of the vomiting act.
Pathophysiology
The vomiting center is extremely sensitive to pressure, so that increased intracranial pressure or a local pressure stimulus (for example from a nearby tumor ) can trigger cerebral vomiting. The vomiting center can be inhibited with dopamine antagonists , serotonin antagonists and tachykinin receptor antagonists such as aprepitant or maropitant, as well as with the parasympatholytic scopolamine , which leads to an antiemetic, i.e., nausea-relieving effect.
literature
- Martin Trepel: Neuroanatomy . 5th edition. Urban & Fischer, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-437-41299-8 , pp. 145 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Schubert-Zsilavecz, Manfred., Roth, Hermann J .: Medicinal Chemistry: Targets - Drugs - Chemical Biology; 191 tables . 2., completely reworked. and exp. Ed. Dt. Apotheker-Verl, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-7692-5002-2 .