[Respiratory neurons in the medulla oblongata of rats]

electrical activity of respiratory neurons was studied in anaesthetized white rats. The medulla oblongata (Obex region) was probed with glass microelectrodes in rostro-caudal and center-outward directions. The electric activity of 130 neurons was recorded, 6 of which fired continuously increasing their firing rate either in the inspiratory or the expiratory phase. Neurons of inspiratory population were found fundamentally rostral to Obex and the expiratory caudal to it. Most of the respiratory neurons were located in the lateral third of the posterior brain-stem.