Heart rate and blood pressure responses to electrical stimulation of the central nervous system in the pigeon (Columba livia)

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Abstract
An extensive stereotaxic stimulation study of the pigeon brain was conducted with monitoring of heart rate, arterial blood pressure and respiration. Rostrally, short latency tachycardia, hypertension and hyperpnea were elicited from the archistriatum, occipitomesencephalic tract and hypothalamus. In addition, blood pressure decreases followed by long latency tachycardia were elicited from the septal complex, although occasionally slight bradycardia occurred.Tachycardia, hypertension and hyperpnea were elicited from many midbrain sites including the lateral reticular formation, ventrolateral tegmentum, ventral area of Tsai, the midline region between nucleus interpeduncularis and the oculomotor complex, and nucleus mesencephalicus lateralis, pars dorsalis. In addition, moderate tachycardia and hypotension were elicited from the central gray and nucleus intercollicularis while tachycardia, hypertension and hyperpnea were elicited from the tegmental area in the region of the occipitomesencephalic tract.At pontine levels, hypertension and cardioacceleration were elicited from a sparsely celled region lateral to the nucleus abducens and from a ventrolateral tegmental region. With respect to respiratory responses, hyperpnea was elicited from the ventrolateral brainstem at all pontine levels and from the dorsomedial region at rostral pontine levels. In caudal pons apnea was the consistent respiratory response to stimulation of the dorsomedial brainstem. In addition, cardio‐acceleration, hypertension and apnea were elicited from the region of the deep cerebellar nucleus cerebellus internus and from its major outflow, the uncinate fasciculus.Finally, stimulation in the medulla elicited bradycardia and hypotension from the vagal rootlets, solitary complex, descending vestibular nucleus and lateral aspect of the dorsal motor nucleus just rostral to the obex. Tachycardia and hypertension were elicited from the medial aspect of the dorsal motor nucleus, medullary reticular formation ventral to the vagal rootlets and ventrolateral medulla.

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