Evaluation of vagal afferent modulation of the digastric reflex in cats

In the present study, we have examined the relative ability of cervical, thoracic, cardiac and diaphragmatic vagal stimulation to modulate the digastric reflex produced by tooth-pulp stimulation in anesthetized cats. The right maxillary tooth pulp was stimulated and the digastric reflex was recorded from the right digastric muscle. Cervical vagal stimulation produced a biphasic effect on the digastric reflex. The reflex was facilitated at conditioning test intervals less than 20 ms and inhibited at conditioning test intervals between 100 ms and 500 ms. Cardiac and thoracic vagal stimulation did not significantly facilitate the digastric reflex but inhibited the reflex at conditioning test intervals between 50 ms and 500 ms with maximum inhibition observed at 200 ms. In contrast, diaphragmatic vagal stimulation produced a weaker inhibition of the digastric reflex. The relative ability of different vagal segments to inhibit the digastric reflex was: thoracic = cardiac = cervical greater than diaphragmatic. The inhibitory effects were not related to cardiovascular responses to vagal afferent stimulation. These findings suggest cardiopulmonary vagal afferents represent an important source of vagal afferents which modulate the digastric reflex in the cat.