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Abstract
Electrical stimulation of left temporo-parieto-occipital (TPO) cortex in adult male
Wistar rats during their behaviorally active phase (nighttime) transiently increased
circulating levels of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. Comparable stimulation of this
cortex on the right decreased circulating levels of these cells. Responses to left
or right cortical stimulation were diminished or absent in behaviorally inactive rats
(daytime). Since blood glucocorticoid levels were similar before and after left or
right stimulation, they did not appear to account for the lateralized changes observed.
These lateralized effects were mediated by spinal cord autonomic pathways emerging
at Tl-T7 levels. In adult thymectomized rats, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells failed to increase
after left sided stimulation. The results suggest that lateralized cerebral cortical
functions can acutely and differentially influence blood T cell subset numbers. The
results demonstrate a direct neocortical influence on thymic export of mature T cells,
mediated by the sympathetic nervous system.