Involvement of the fastigial nuclei in vagally mediated respiratory responses

Previous studies have demonstrated that the cerebellum, especially the fastigial nucleus (FN), is capable of modulating respiratory responses to chemical and mechanical stimuli. Because there is evidence to show projections from vagal afferents to the FN, the goal of this study was to determine the role of the FN in the respiratory reflexes elicited by activation of vagal afferents. Experiments were performed in anesthetized (chloralose), paralyzed, and artificially ventilated cats with an occipital exposure of the cerebellum. Administration of capsaicin (Cap; 5-10 micrograms/kg) via the right external jugular vein at the end of inspiration and application of lung inflation (LI; 10 cmH2O) during inspiration were carried out to stimulate nonmyelinated and myelinated vagal afferents, respectively. The phrenic neurogram was recorded as an index of the respiratory motor output. Control cardiorespiratory variables [expiratory duration (TE), arterial blood pressure] and their immediate responses to stimuli were compared before and after bilateral lesions of the FN. The results showed the following. 1) Cap injection and LI resulted in a dramatic increase in TE (apnea). 2) FN lesions did not significantly alter the control TE; however, the apneic duration induced by Cap injection was prolonged. 3) Neither FN lesions nor cerebellectomy affected the apneic duration that resulted from application of LI. 4) Cold blockade of the vagi (6-8 degrees C) eliminated the respiratory responses elicited by LI but not Cap injection; vagotomy abolished the responses to both stimuli. 5) FN lesions did not change the control ABP or its responses to either LI or Cap injection. It is concluded that the FN is involved in vagally mediated respiratory reflexes elicited by activation of nonmyelinated (C-fiber) vagal afferents.