Effects of carotid Body chemoreceptor stimulation by 5-HT on phrenic nerve activity and ventilation in the rabbit

Effects of carotid body chemoreceptor stimulation by 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) on the phrenic nerve activity and ventilation were studied by injecting it into the external carotid artery of the rabbits. 5-HT induced an immediate and transient increase of ventilatory rate which became more pronounced with increasing the dose, but it was accompanied by decreases in integrated phrenic nerve activity and tidal volume. The excitatory response was followed by an inhibition in 35% of the experiments. The 5-HT-induced excitation was unaffected by pretreatment with atropine and mecamylamine, but it was completely blocked by tetrodotoxin (TTX) which failed to inhibit the excitation induced by NaCN. Prior administration of atropine abolished the inhibitory effect of 5-HT and the ventilatory excitation induced by baroreceptor stimulation. It may be suggested that the excitation induced by 5-HT results from stimulation of chemoreceptor nerve endings, whereas the inhibition is probably due to its action on baroreceptor nerve endings.