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Chicken intrapulmonary and cardiac nerve afferents interact in ventilatory control
T P Adamson1, B K Myers, I C Solomon
1Section of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis 95616.
Respiration Physiology
|November 1, 1994
Summary
Afferents in the middle cardiac nerve (MCN) interact with intrapulmonary chemoreceptors (IPC) to regulate breathing. Cutting the MCN altered ventilatory responses to CO2, suggesting MCN involvement in this respiratory control interaction.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Respiratory Control
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Intrapulmonary chemoreceptors (IPC) and extrapulmonary afferents (EPA) interact in avian respiratory control.
- The specific role of different EPA in this interaction remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if afferents in the middle cardiac nerve (MCN) interact centrally with IPC.
- To determine the contribution of MCN afferents to ventilatory control in chickens.
Main Methods:
- Anesthetized cockerels underwent separate lung ventilation to control PaCO2.
- Ventilatory and blood pressure responses were measured before and after MCN section.
- Multiple regression analysis was used to assess CO2 sensitivity and EPA-IPC interaction.
Main Results:
- MCN section increased ventilatory amplitude and reduced respiratory period across various intrapulmonary PCO2 levels.
- Mean arterial pressure increased post-MCN section, independent of PaCO2.
- MCN section reduced arterial CO2 sensitivity and the interaction between EPA and IPC.
Conclusions:
- Afferents in the MCN play a role in the interaction with IPC.
- These MCN afferents contribute to reducing ventilatory amplitude during hypocapnia.
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