Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026
09:22
A Method for Remotely Silencing Neural Activity in Rodents During Discrete Phases of Learning
Published on: June 22, 2015
Attenuated phrenic long-term facilitation in orexin neuron-ablated mice
Shinichi Toyama1, Takeshi Sakurai, Koichiro Tatsumi
1Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology
|August 12, 2009
Summary
Orexin neurons are crucial for phrenic long-term facilitation (LTF) in mice. Intermittent hypoxia triggers phrenic LTF in wild-type mice, a response significantly reduced by orexin neuron ablation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Phrenic long-term facilitation (LTF) is a key respiratory reflex.
- The role of orexin neurons in respiratory control, particularly LTF, remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the contribution of orexin neurons to phrenic LTF in mice.
- To characterize the effects of intermittent hypoxia (IH) on phrenic nerve activity (PNA) in wild-type and orexin-ablated mice.
Main Methods:
- Experiments were conducted in urethane-anesthetized, vagotomized, paralyzed, and artificially ventilated mice.
- Phrenic nerve activity (PNA) was measured following single hypoxic episodes (SHE) and intermittent hypoxia (IH).
- Comparisons were made between wild-type littermates and orexin neuron-ablated mice.
Main Results:
- Intermittent hypoxia (IH) induced a sustained increase in phrenic nerve activity (PNA) amplitude in wild-type mice, indicative of phrenic LTF.
- This phrenic LTF response was significantly attenuated in orexin neuron-ablated mice.
- Single hypoxic episodes (SHE) did not elicit LTF in either group.
Conclusions:
- Orexin neurons play a significant role in the generation of phrenic LTF in mice.
- This study provides the first evidence of phrenic LTF following IH in wild-type mice.
- The characteristics of phrenic LTF in mice resemble those observed in rats.
