- Title
- The role of central catecholamines in the control of blood pressure through baroreceptor reflex and nasopharyngeal reflex in the rabbit
- Creator
- Chalmers, J. P.; White, Saxon William; Geffen, J. B.; Rush, R.
- Relation
- Progress in Brain Research Vol. 47, p. 85-93
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0079-6123(08)62714-4
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 1977
- Description
- This chapter describes the role of central catecholaminergic nerves in the control of blood pressure through the nasopharyngeal reflex. The role of central catecholamines in another cardiovascular reflex— known as smoke reflex—is examined in the chapter. This is a trigeminal nerve reflex that produces a pronounced sympathetic vasoconstriction and a vagally mediated bradycardia in response to cigarette smoke stimulation of the nasopharynx of the rabbit. Following intracisternal 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), the vasoconstrictor component of the response is inactivated, but the bradycardia appears to be unaffected. At the end of the experiments, measurements of regional brain noradrenaline concentration, dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) activity, and phenylethanolamine-N-methyl-transferase (PNMT) activity are made. In animals receiving 6-OHDA, noradrenaline concentration and DBH activity are reduced to about 50% of control, but PNMT activity is unchanged. These data suggest that central pathways mediating vasoconstriction in response to nasopharyngeal stimulation, utilize noradrenaline rather than adrenaline as a neurotransmitter.
- Subject
- catecholamines; blood pressure; smoke reflex; nasopharyngeal reflex
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/938995
- Identifier
- uon:12716
- Identifier
- ISSN:0079-6123
- Language
- eng
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