title: Respiratory interneurons of the lower cervical (C4-C5) cord: membrane potential changes during fictive coughing, vomiting, and swallowing in the decerebrate cat.
abstract: The possible roles of interneurons in the C4-C5 cervical spinal cord in conveying central drives to phrenic motoneurons during different behaviour patterns were investigated using intracellular recordings in decerebrate, paralysed, artificially ventilated cats. Eleven cells were tentatively classified as respiratory interneurons since they: (i) could not be antidromically activated from the ipsilateral whole intrathoracic phrenic nerve, and (ii) exhibited large membrane potential changes during eupnea (7.3 mV +/- 3.6, range 2-13.5 mV) or non-respiratory behaviour patterns. Six neurons depolarized in phase with phrenic discharge; four others depolarized during the expiratory phase; one neuron exhibited depolarization during the end of both expiration and inspiration. A variety of responses was observed during fictive coughing, vomiting, and swallowing. The results are consistent with C4-C5 expiratory interneurons conveying inhibition to phrenic motoneurons during different behaviour patterns. The responses of inspiratory and multiphasic neurons suggest that the roles of these interneurons are mode complex than simply relaying central excitatory or inhibitory drive to phrenic motoneurons.
authors.affiliation: Département de Physiologie et Neurophysiologie, Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de la Respiration, CNRS URA 205, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques Saint Jérôme, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grélot
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Milano
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Portillo
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D003371:Cough / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003655:Decerebrate State / Q000503:physiopathology; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D007002:Hypoglossal Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D007395:Interneurons / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D010791:Phrenic Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000294:innervation*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D014839:Vomiting / Q000503:physiopathology*