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Modulation of vomiting by the medullary midline
A D Miller1, S Nonaka, J Jakuŝ
1Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021-6399, USA.
Brain Research
|October 21, 1996
Summary
The brainstem midline region is crucial for initiating vomiting. Disrupting this area in cats significantly reduced or eliminated fictive vomiting, highlighting its role in the vomiting process.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Physiology
Background:
- The brainstem's role in complex behaviors like vomiting is under investigation.
- The specific contribution of the midline brainstem to emesis is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the brainstem midline region as a source of facilitatory input for vomiting.
- To elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying the vomiting process.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the fictive vomiting model in decerebrate, paralyzed cats.
- Administered localized injections of the neurotoxin kainic acid to the medullary midline region.
Main Results:
- Dysfunction of the medullary midline region abolished or greatly attenuated fictive vomiting.
- Identified respiratory-related midline neurons firing in synchrony with phrenic and abdominal nerve discharge during fictive vomiting.
Conclusions:
- The medullary midline is essential for the normal occurrence of the vomiting process.
- Lesions in the medullary midline may eliminate vomiting by removing facilitatory input to respiratory motoneurons or brainstem vomiting circuitry.