Cardiovascular responses during spontaneous overground locomotion in freely moving decerebrate cats

To examine whether the cerebrum is essential for producing the rapid cardiovascular adjustment at the beginning of overground locomotion, we examined heart rate (HR), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), and integrated electromyogram (iEMG) of the forelimb triceps brachialis muscle in freely moving decerebrate cats during locomotion. Two to four days after decerebration surgery performed at the level of the precollicular-premammillary body, the animals spontaneously produced coordinated overground locomotion, supporting body weight. HR began to increase immediately before the onset of iEMG, and MAP began to rise almost simultaneously with the iEMG onset. Their increases in HR and MAP (24 +/- 3 beats/min and 22 +/- 4 mmHg) were sustained during locomotion. Sinoaortic denervation (SAD) did not affect the abrupt changes in HR and MAP at the beginning of locomotion (0-4 s from the onset of iEMG), whereas SAD had a contrasting effect during the subsequent period, a decrease in the HR response (9 +/- 1 beats/min) and an increase in the MAP response (30 +/- 3 mmHg). These results suggest that the cerebrum and the rostral part of the diencephalon are not essential for producing the rapid cardiovascular adjustment at the beginning of spontaneous overground locomotion. The arterial baroreflex does not contribute to this rapid adjustment but plays an important role in regulating the cardiovascular responses during the later period of spontaneous locomotion.