Effects of central nervous stimulants on spino-bulbo-spinal reflex potentials in cats

Effects of central nervous stimulants on the spino-bulbo-spinal reflex potential were evaluated in anesthetized intact cats, and compared with those on segmental spinal reflex potentials in anesthetized spinal cats. In spinal cats, strychnine augmented polysynaptic reflex potential, picrotoxin inhibited dorsal root reflex potential, aminopyrine potentiated mono- and poly-synaptic reflex potentials but inhibited dorsal root reflex potential, and 4-aminopyridine potentiated all the three types of segmental reflex potentials. A combination of fenbufen, a non-steroidal antiinflammatory agent, and enoxacin, a new quinolone antimicrobial, inhibited all the three types of segmental reflex potentials. In contrast, all these drugs consistently produced an augmentation of the spino-bulbo-spinal reflex potential in anesthetized intact cats. From these findings, we suggest that the spino-bulbo-spinal reflex potential may be used as an electrophysiological parameter for the evaluation of central nervous stimulants.