Respiratory activity generated by semi-isolated medullo-spinal preparation and recorded from the phrenic nerve of newborn rats

Inspiratory activity generated by superfusedin situ semi-isolated medullo-spinal preparations of newborn (one-day-old) and four- to five-day-old rats was recorded from then. phrenicus before and after transverse sectioning of the ventrolateral part of the medulla (VLPM) at different levels. Under similar experimental conditions, the frequency of inspiratory discharges (ID) and their integral intensity, reflecting the volume and temporal parameters of inspiration, are much lower in one-day-old rats, as compared with those in four- to five-day-old animals. Specific roles of different VLPM levels in respiration control in young rats are demonstrated. Transection of the VLPM below the most rostral VLPM portion, corresponding to theM chemosensitive zone, caused a significant increase in the ID frequency and a decrease in the ID integral intensity. Transection performed below the intermediate VLPM region, corresponding to theS chemosensitive zone, resulted in a significant decrease in both ID frequency and ID integral intensity, up to total ID blockade in 5 of 12 1-day-old preparations. This finding can be interpreted as an indication of morphofunctional immaturity of the respiratory network in the caudal VLPM regions in newborn animals. Comparative analysis of ID pattern showed that this activity in one-day-old rats is more or less gasping-like, while that in four- to five-day-old animals is eupnoe-like. The results allow us to conclude that the level of maturity of morphofunctional organization of medullary respiratory networks considerably differs in newborn and older animals. The mechanisms responsible for formation and control of respiratory activity in early postnatal period of rats are discussed.Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 27, No. 5/6, pp. 387–395, September–December, 1995.