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Responses of bulbar respiratory neurons to stimulation of receptive fields in the air passages

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Abstract

Extracellular recordings were made of changes in the firing pattern of 74 respiratory neurons in 23 cats anesthetized with Nembutal evoked by blowing atmospheric air into the nose or through an isolated segment of trachea. Respiratory unit (RU) responses were compared with accompanying changes in the activity of inspiratory and expiratory neuromotor units (NMUs) and the intratracheal pressure. These procedures were accompanied by changes in the frequency, depth, and rhythm of respiration and RU and NMU activity was activated or inhibited; RUs of all types responded to these stimuli. Responding RUs were found in various structures of the medullary respiratory center. Most RUs responded differently to stimulation of the air passages and inflation of the lungs. It is concluded that afferent impulses from the nose and trachea spread to all groups of bulbar RUs responsible for generating respiratory movements. This wide extent of the afferent projections of the air passages in structures of the respiratory center could play an important role both in defensive respiratory responses and in the regulation of eupnea.

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Authors
  1. V. S. Vasilevskii
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A. A. Bogomolets Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, Kiev. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 620–630, November–December, 1971.

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Vasilevskii, V.S. Responses of bulbar respiratory neurons to stimulation of receptive fields in the air passages. Neurophysiology 3, 463–470 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01063759

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01063759

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