Spinal integration of segmental, cortical and breathing inputs to thoracic respiratory motoneurones

1. The spinal integration of cortical, segmental and breathing inputs to thoracic motoneurones was studied in anaesthetized, paralysed cats: the breathing input was intensified by underventilation or abolished by hyperventilation.2. In apnoeic animals, low intensity stimulation of an internal intercostal nerve evoked a brief latency polysynaptic reflex discharge of expiratory motoneurones (direct response) in several adjacent segments with no or little response of the inspiratory motoneurones.3. A similar direct response of expiratory motoneurones occurred with brief tetanic stimulation of the trunk area in the contralateral sensorimotor cortex.4. Conditioning of an intercostal-intercostal test reflex by a prior stimulus to an intercostal nerve or to the cortex gave conditioning curves showing facilitation of transmission to expiratory motoneurones at short intervals (5-25 msec) and inhibition at long intervals (25-200 msec).5. The direct response of expiratory motoneurones to the cortical or segmental inputs was depressed during the inspiratory phase when the animal was underventilated; conversely the spontaneous activity of the inspiratory motoneurones was inhibited for a period that corresponded with the direct response or to the phase of facilitated transmission to expiratory motoneurones. During the expiratory phase, the cortically or segmentally induced direct response was facilitated but the inhibition of inspiratory motoneurone activity was concealed by the absence of spontaneous activity.6. It was possible with discrete lesions of the spinal cord to differentiate between the pathways subserving the responses to cortical stimulation and the spontaneous activity due to the breathing input.7. To account for the results a working hypothesis is proposed utilizing a segmental interneuronal network which transmits mutual reciprocal inhibition between inspiratory and expiratory motoneurones.