The pattern of Fos like-immunoreactivity (FLI) in the periaqueductal gray (PAG) associated with activation of arterial chemoreceptors versus baroreceptor afferents was examined in urethane anesthetized rats. Chemoreflex responses elicited by repeat intravenous (i.v.) injections of potassium cyanide (KCN; 90 µg/kg) significantly increased FLI in all columns of the PAG relative to saline injected animals. Pressor responses elicited by i.v. phenylephrine (PE) produced a similar pattern of increased FLI throughout the PAG, except in the dorsomedial and lateral columns of the caudal PAG, where FLI was minimal. Chemoreflex responses were unaltered by blockade of excitatory amino acid receptors in the dorsomedial PAG and less than ten percent of neurons of caudal PAG that expressed FLI following KCN stimulation, were retrogradely labeled from the A5 region of the caudal ventrolateral pons. These results indicate that integration of chemoreceptor inputs occurs primarily in the dorsal and lateral columns of the caudal PAG, but these neurons have little direct descending influence over lower brainstem regions integral to the central arterial chemoreflex arc.