Cerebellar control of expiratory activities of medullary neurons and spinal nerves

Abstract

Expiratory-related activities of spinal nerves are augmented after stimulation of the infracerebellar nucleus of the cerebellum. These stimulations alter neither inspiratory spinal neural activities nor inspiratory and expiratory laryngeal neural activities. It was hypothesized that efferents from the infracerebellar nucleus impinge on spinal motoneurons by a pathway that bypasses the medulla. In decerebrate, paralyzed, and vagotomized cats, phrenic and expiratory triangularis sterni activities and activities of medullary respiratory neurons were recorded. During infracerebellar stimulation, activities increased for expiratory bulbospinal neurons and neurons with tonic discharge patterns. After unilateral ablation of the infracerebellar nucleus by kainic acid, triangularis sterni discharge was eliminated and activities of expiratory bulbospinal neurons continued at reduced frequencies. Stimulations of the anterior interposed nucleus caused both inspiratory and expiratory activities to increase, whereas no systematic changes followed stimulations of the vermis. Results establish that at least a portion of the changes in expiratory activities of spinal motoneurons after perturbations of the infracerebellar nucleus occurs secondarily to changes in activities of medullary neurons. The possibility of separate cerebellar projections to medullary and spinal neurons is discussed.