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Noxious stimuli do not determine reflex cardiorespiratory effects in anesthetized rabbits
G Raimondi1, J M Legramante, F Iellamo
1Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Cattedra di Fisiopatologia, Medica, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Italy.
Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)
|December 1, 1996
Summary
Dental pulp stimulation in deeply anesthetized rabbits did not cause cardiorespiratory effects. These effects were exclusively linked to muscle contractions, not pain receptor activation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cardiorespiratory Physiology
Background:
- The trigeminal nerve innervates dental pulp, sensing pain.
- Deep anesthesia abolishes cortical processing of sensory information.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if dental pulp stimulation causes cardiorespiratory effects when cortical integration is blocked.
- To determine the role of muscle contraction in these responses.
Main Methods:
- Electrical stimulation of dental pulp in anesthetized rabbits (n=15).
- Induced digastric muscle contractions (jaw-opening reflex).
- Measured cardiovascular (systolic arterial pressure) and respiratory (pulmonary ventilation) parameters.
Main Results:
- Dental pulp stimulation induced reflex muscle contractions.
- Both dental pulp and direct muscle stimulation caused similar cardiovascular and respiratory changes.
- Blocking muscle contractions eliminated cardiorespiratory changes from pulp stimulation.
Conclusions:
- In deeply anesthetized animals, dental pulp stimulation alone does not induce cardiorespiratory effects.
- Observed cardiorespiratory changes are primarily due to muscle contraction-induced ergoreceptor stimulation.