RESPIRATORY NEURONAL ACTIVITY IN PONS OF CAT

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Abstract
In a series of vagotomized cats the pons was explored with microelectrodes for neuronal activity synchronous with phases of respiration. The animals were maintained on nitrous oxide-oxygen anesthesia with 2% CO2 in the gas mixture. Action potentials and chest movements were recorded with a dual beam oscilloscope. 323 spontaneous neuronal discharges synchronous with respiration were recorded at all levels of the pons. Four types of neurons were found; (a) neurons which fire only during inspiration or whose firing frequency increases during inspiration; (b) neurons which commence firing during inspiration, and which cease firing during expiration; (c) neurons which fire only during the expiratory phase; (d) neurons which commence firing during expiration, and which cease firing during inspiration. The inspiratory neurons (a) were found predominantly in the dorsolateral portion of the rostral pons: the same region where the "pneumotaxic mechanism" has been located on the basis of destruction and stimulation experiments. In other regions of the pons the most frequent type of discharge was "inspiratory-expiratory" (b). A hypothesis of pontile respiratory function is proposed: the pontile neurons function to modulate the medullary respiratory mechanisms. The expiratory and inspiratory-expiratory neurons (c and b) are believed to promote expiration; the inspiratory and expiratory-inspiratory neurons (a and d) are believed to promote inspiration.

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