Xylazine emesis, yohimbine and motion sickness susceptibility in the cat

The possible role of the alpha-2 adrenoceptors in xylazine-induced vomiting and in motion sickness was investigated. Cats were divided into two groups according to motion sickness susceptibility and were observed after s.c. injections of xylazine. The incidence of vomiting increased with the dose, and at each dose, the high susceptibility group had a greater emetic incidence than the low susceptibility group. In another experiment with cats divided into two groups according to motion sickness susceptibility, s.c. administration of yohimbine effectively antagonized the xylazine-induced emesis in both susceptibility groups. The cats in the latter experiment were then challenged with a motion sickness stimulus, after s.c. pretreatment with yohimbine. Yohimbine failed to prevent motion sickness but did occasion an unexplained variability in the incidence of vomiting. These findings suggest that the emetic effect of xylazine results from stimulation of alpha-2 adrenoceptors but that these receptors are not fundamental to feline motion sickness. The fact that susceptibilities to xylazine-induced emesis and to motion sickness are correlated suggests a point of interaction other than the area postrema, which is known to be essential for xylazine-induced vomiting but not for motion sickness in the cat.