Oral stimulations induce apnoea in newborn kittens

The aim of the present work was to study oral trigeminal mechanisms which might induce apnoeic reflexes in adult cats and kittens at different postnatal ages. Various oral stimulations and electrical stimulations of the lingual nerve produced apnoeas whose duration decreased with age until three weeks of life. In addition, swallowing was only rarely observed before 5 days and then occurred with apnoea until the third week. Responses became similar to those observed in adults between weeks 3 and 4. Thus, in kittens, the nervous control which regulates coordination between breathing and swallowing appears to be immature at birth.