Event Abstract Back to Event Central neuronal pathways mediating respiratory activation in response to alerting and stressful stimuli Evgeny Bondarenko1*, Drielle D. Guimaraes2, Lee Averell1, Valdir A. Braga2, Deborah M. Hodgson1 and Eugene Nalivaiko1 1 University of Newcastle, Australia 2 Federal University of Paraiba, Centro de Biotecnologia, Brazil Aims: Links between respiration and emotion are well-established in humans, but such links were only recently investigated in animals. We have previously shown that the magnitude of respiratory responses to alerting or stressful stimuli is linked with animals’ anxiety state. The aim of the current study was to investigate central neuronal pathways that mediate this respiratory activation in response to various stressors. Method: Four groups of 8 rats received microinjections of GABAa agonist Muscimol or saline via bilateral guide cannulas into the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH), the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the amygdala or the dorsolateral periaqueductal gray (dlPAG). They were then subjected to a respiratory assessment via whole-body plethysmography with presentation of 6 acoustic stimuli of increasing intensity (40-90 decibel, 500 millisecond white noise) and a 15-minute restraint stress. Results: Acoustic stimuli evoked transient increases in respiratory rate proportional to the stimulus intensity, ranging from 12 cycles per minute in response to the 40-decibel stimulus to 329 cycles per minute in response to the 90-decibel stimulus. Inhibition of the DMH abolished these respiratory responses to the 40-70 decibel stimuli and attenuated responses to the 80 and 90-decibel stimuli, while inhibition of the amygdala significantly decreased responses to the 70-90 decibel stimuli. Microinjections of Muscimol to the PAG or the PFC did not affect respiratory responses to any of the acoustic stimuli. Restraint stress elevated resting respiratory rate by 51 cycles per minute. Inhibition of the DMH completely abolished this respiratory response, while inhibition of the amygdala and the PFC significantly reduced it. Conclusions: Consistent with previous studies, integrity of the DMH is essential for generation of autonomic responses, including respiratory responses. The amygdala contributes to respiratory activation, probably by mediating anxiety state. The mPFC contributes to maintaining elevated respiratory rate during stress, but does not contribute to short-lasting respiratory activation. Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge HMRI, the Heart Foundation and the University of Newcastle for their financial support. Keywords: Respiration, Anxiety, Rats, dmh, PAG, PFC, Amygdala, Dorsomedial Hypothalamic Nucleus, dorsomedial hypothalamus, prelimbic prefrontal cortex, Prefrontal Cortex, Periaqueductal Gray Conference: ASP2013 - 23rd Annual meeting of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Wollongong, Australia, 20 Nov - 22 Nov, 2013. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation Topic: Emotion Citation: Bondarenko E, Guimaraes DD, Averell L, Braga VA, Hodgson DM and Nalivaiko E (2013). Central neuronal pathways mediating respiratory activation in response to alerting and stressful stimuli. Conference Abstract: ASP2013 - 23rd Annual meeting of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.213.00009 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 25 Oct 2013; Published Online: 05 Nov 2013. * Correspondence: Mr. Evgeny Bondarenko, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia, Evgeny.Bondarenko@newcastle.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Evgeny Bondarenko Drielle D Guimaraes Lee Averell Valdir A Braga Deborah M Hodgson Eugene Nalivaiko Google Evgeny Bondarenko Drielle D Guimaraes Lee Averell Valdir A Braga Deborah M Hodgson Eugene Nalivaiko Google Scholar Evgeny Bondarenko Drielle D Guimaraes Lee Averell Valdir A Braga Deborah M Hodgson Eugene Nalivaiko PubMed Evgeny Bondarenko Drielle D Guimaraes Lee Averell Valdir A Braga Deborah M Hodgson Eugene Nalivaiko Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.