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Influences of GABAergic Inhibition in the Dorsal Medulla on Contralateral Swallowing Neurons in Rats
Author(s) -
Kinoshita Shota,
Sugiyama Yoichiro,
Hashimoto Keiko,
Fuse Shinya,
Mukudai Shigeyuki,
Umezaki Toshiro,
Dutschmann Mathias,
Hirano Shigeru
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1002/lary.29242
Subject(s) - swallowing , muscimol , medulla oblongata , medulla , brainstem , medicine , anesthesia , central pattern generator , neuroscience , anatomy , agonist , psychology , central nervous system , surgery , receptor , rhythm
Objectives We aimed to examine the effect of unilateral inhibition of the medullary dorsal swallowing networks on the activities of swallowing‐related cranial motor nerves and swallowing interneurons. Methods In 25 juvenile rats, we recorded bilateral vagal nerve activity (VNA) as well as unilateral phrenic and hypoglossal activity (HNA) during fictive swallowing elicited by electrical stimulation of the superior laryngeal nerve during control and following microinjection of the GABA agonist muscimol into the caudal dorsal medulla oblongata in a perfused brainstem preparation. In 20 animals, swallowing interneurons contralateral to the muscimol injection side were simultaneously recorded extracellularly and their firing rates were analyzed during swallowing. Results Integrated VNA and HNA to the injection side decreased to 49.0 ± 16.6% and 32.3 ± 17.9%, respectively. However, the VNA on the uninjected side showed little change after muscimol injection. Following local inhibition, 11 out of 20 contralateral swallowing interneurons showed either increased or decreased of their respective firing discharge during evoked‐swallowing, while no significant changes in activity were observed in the remaining nine neurons. Conclusion The neuronal networks underlying the swallowing pattern generation in the dorsal medulla mediate the ipsilateral motor outputs and modulate the contralateral activity of swallowing interneurons, suggesting that the bilateral coordination of the swallowing central pattern generator regulates the spatiotemporal organization of pharyngeal swallowing movements. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope , 131:2187–2198, 2021