title: Control of phrenic nerve activity and blood pressure by the medullary raphe nuclei in cats.
abstract: Electrical and chemical stimulation methods were used to determine the topographic organization of the medullary raphe nuclei (MRN) in controlling the systemic arterial blood pressure (BP) and phrenic nerve activities (PNA). Decerebrated, unanesthetized and bilateral vagotomized cats were used. Effective points in the MRN were systematically explored with constant current stimulation. We found stimulation of the rostral MRN produced a decrease in PNA amplitude and increase in BP and PNA frequency. Stimulation of the caudal MRN produced increases in BP and the amplitude and frequency of PNA. Microinjection of glutamate solution into the caudal or the rostral MRN points produced qualitatively similar results. Thus, we concluded that the caudal MRN neurons had excitatory connections whereas the rostral MRN neurons had excitatory and inhibitory connections to the cardiovascular preganglionic neurons and the phrenic nerve motoneurons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Republic of China.
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002415:Cats / Q000502:physiology; D003655:Decerebrate State / Q000503:physiopathology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D005971:Glutamates / Q000494:pharmacology; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D008297:Male; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D010791:Phrenic Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D011903:Raphe Nuclei / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D014628:Vagotomy
chemical_list: D005971:Glutamates; D018698:Glutamic Acid