The area of the brain where the signals from the neck terminate were first identified by “Godfather of Neuroscience” Ramon Y Cajal, more than 100 years ago, though its function was not understood. What happened after these signals arrived remained a largely-overlooked area of research until new techniques allowed the Leeds team to take the work forward.

Their work began by chance, as Prof Deuchars explained: “Cells in the area that receive neck signals jumped out at us when we labelled sections with particular markers. We wanted to know how these cells were organised and the other brain regions to which they were connected.”

The team, which includes researchers from Japan and Hungary, found a link between these cells and the nucleus tractus solitarius, an area of the brain that is pivotal in control of autonomic functions - body functions under unconscious control. They propose that nervous signals from the neck could play a key role in ensuring that adequate blood supply is maintained to the brain as we change posture, such as from lying down to standing up. Where such signalling fails, we can suffer problems with balance and blood pressure.

The findings offer a clear rationale for manipulative treatments: “Reports from chiropractic journals say that manipulating the neck region helps to reduce blood pressure in some people,” Prof Deuchars explained. “By identifying the pathways we can see why these treatments might work and it could also explain why some people suffering whiplash injuries may experience a change in their blood pressure.”

“The work also contributes to understanding postural hypotension – fainting which can be caused by standing up too fast. The neck muscles could be a part of the system which normally prevents this from happening by sending signals to the brain upon neck movement that posture has changed.”

More research is now needed to see which sensory nerve fibres and precisely which cells are involved in the process. Amongst other things, the team would now like to know what other brain regions the neck muscle termination site connects to. They believe that there are many malfunctions associated with whiplash injuries to the neck that could be better understood by unravelling these connections. They hope that this knowledge could be used to design more effective treatments for such injuries.

Jim Deuchars is Professor of Systems Neuroscience in the University of Leeds’s Institute of Membrane and Systems Biology, based in the Faculty of Biological Sciences. There is more about his work here: http://www.fbs.leeds.ac.uk/staff/profile.php?tag=Deuchars_J

The University of Leeds Faculty of Biological Sciences is one of the largest in the UK, with nearly 150 academic staff and over 400 postdoctoral fellows and postgraduates. The faculty’s current active research grant portfolio is around £77m and funders include charities, research councils, the European Union and industry. The faculty has an outstanding research record and all major units of assessment were awarded Grade 5 in the last government (HEFCE) Research Assessment Exercise. More about the faculty can be found here: www.fbs.leeds.ac.uk

Researcher Ian Edwards, who worked on the project, is available for interview. Please contact via the University of Leeds press office on 0113 343 4031.

The article "The Neurochemically Diverse Intermedius Nucleus of the Medulla as a Source of Excitatory and Inhibitory Synaptic Input to the Nucleus Tractus Solitarii" (JN-RM-0638-07.R1) is published in the Journal of Neuroscience. A full electronic copy of the article is available on request.