Michelini LC. Afferent signaling drives oxytocinergic preautonomic neurons and mediates training-induced plasticity. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 301: R958 -R966, 2011. First published July 27, 2011 doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00104.2011.-We showed previously that oxytocinergic (OTergic) projections from the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) to the dorsal brain stem mediate traininginduced heart rate (HR) adjustments and that beneficial effects of training are blocked by sinoaortic denervation (SAD; Exp Physiol 94: 630 -640; 1103-1113). We sought now to determine the combined effect of training and SAD on PVN OTergic neurons in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Rats underwent SAD or sham surgery and were trained (55% of maximal capacity) or kept sedentary for 3 mo. After hemodynamic measurements were taken at rest, rats were deeply anesthetized. Fresh brains were frozen and sliced to isolate the PVN; samples were processed for OT expression (real-time PCR) and fixed brains were processed for OT immunofluorescence. In sham rats, training improved treadmill performance and increased the gain of baroreflex control of HR. Training reduced resting HR (Ϫ8%) in both groups, with a fall in blood pressure (Ϫ10%) only in SHR rats. These changes were accompanied by marked increases in PVN OT mRNA expression (3.9-and 2.2-fold in WKY and SHR rats, respectively) and peptide density in PVN OTergic neurons (2.6-fold in both groups), with significant correlations between OT content and training-induced resting bradycardia. SAD abolished PVN OT mRNA expression and markedly reduced PVN OT density in WKY and SHR. Training had no effect on HR, PVN OT mRNA, or OT content following SAD. The chronic absence of inputs from baroreceptors and chemoreceptors uncovers the pivotal role of afferent signaling in driving both the plasticity and activity of PVN OTergic neurons, as well as the beneficial effects of training on cardiovascular control. sinoaortic denervation; exercise training; hypothalamus; paraventricular nucleus; supraoptic nucleus; oxytocin; spontaneous hypertension ACCUMULATING EXPERIMENTAL evidence from our and other laboratories has shown that aerobic training promotes several beneficial cardiovascular effects in normotensive and hypertensive individuals. Training causes remodeling of the heart with a simultaneous stroke volume increase and heart rate (HR) decrease (5, 34, 40), outward eutrophic remodeling of arterioles, capillary angiogenesis, and venule neoformation in the exercised muscles (1-3, 10, 24). Exercise training is also accompanied by a predominance of relaxation over contractile endothelium-derived factors (15, 44). These adaptive mechanisms by improving blood flow and tissue conductance, by reducing vascular resistance, and restoring normal endothelial function favor the amelioration of impaired functions in cardiovascular disease.Training reduces both the activity of the renin-angiotensin system and oxidative stress (13,22,38) and effectively induces neuronal pla...