These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Descending inhibitory pathway responsible for simultaneous suppression of postural tone and respiration in decerebrate cats.
    Author: Kawahara K, Suzuki M.
    Journal: Brain Res; 1991 Jan 11; 538(2):303-9. PubMed ID: 2012972.
    Abstract:
    The present study was performed in order to elucidate whether the suppressive effects on postural tone and respiration evoked by stimulation of the dorsal tegmental field (DTF) of the pons are relayed through the neurons in the ponto-medullary reticular formation. First, the DTF was functionally identified, and then a microelectrode was inserted into the caudal pontine and medullary reticular formation to investigate the distribution of the neurons monosynaptically activated by stimulation of the DTF. The monosynaptically activated neurons were distributed within the nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis (NRGc) in the caudal pons and medulla. The spinal cord (L1) was stimulated to study whether such monosynaptically activated neurons project to the spinal cord. Almost all the neurons monosynaptically activated by DTF stimulation were antidromically activated by spinal stimulation. This result indicates that the neurons in the NRGc activated monosynaptically by DTF stimulation send axons to the spinal cord. Tonic micro-stimulation was then delivered to the site in the NRGc, from which the monosynaptically driven units were recorded by DTF stimulation. The stimulation resulted in the parallel suppression of postural tone and respiration, similar to the suppressive effects elicited by DTF stimulation. The present study suggests the possible existence of a descending inhibitory pathway through the reticulospinal neurons in the NRGc responsible for parallel suppression of postural tone and respiration.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]