Phrenic nerve afferents elicited cord dorsum potential in the cat cervical spinal cord.
BACKGROUND
The diaphragm has sensory innervation from mechanoreceptors with myelinated axons entering the spinal cord via the phrenic nerve that project to the thalamus and somatosensory cortex. It was hypothesized that phrenic nerve afferent (PnA) projection to the central nervous system is via the spinal dorsal column pathway.


RESULTS
A single N1 peak of the CDP was found in the C4 and C7 spinal segments. Three peaks (N1, N2, and N3) were found in the C5 and C6 segments. No CDP was recorded at C8 dorsal spinal cord surface in cats.


CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate PnA activation of neurons in the cervical spinal cord. Three populations of myelinated PnA (Group I, Group II, and Group III) enter the cat's cervical spinal segments that supply the phrenic nerve.
Chou
Yang-Ling
YL
Department of Physiological Sciences, University of Florida, Box 100144, HSC, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA. yangling@ufl.edu
Davenport
Paul W
PW
D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000502:physiology*; D010791:Phrenic Nerve / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*