SUPRASEGMENTAL INHIBITION OF AN AUTONOMIC REFLEX

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Abstract
Being entirely under the control of the central nervous system and admitting accurate measurement of its intensity, the galvanic skin reflex from the foot-pads of the cat is highly suitable for study of central inhibition of autonomic reflexes. In cats under anesthesia of chloralose and urethan, electric stimulation of the bulbar ventromedial reticular formation, the cerebellar anterior lobe, the caudate nucleus and the frontal cerebral cortex each inhibits the galvanic skin reflex evoked by faradization of the proximal stump of either the peroneal or the superficial radial nerve. Comparison of the effects of stimulating the bulbar ventromedial reticular formation, the cerebellar anterior lobe and the frontal cerebral cortex shows that the first of these three nervous structures has the lowest threshold and the largest inhibitory effect, whereas the third has the highest threshold and the least inhibitory effect.