Respiratory depression caused by either morphine microinjection or repetitive electrical stimulation in the region of the nucleus parabrachialis of cats

In chloralose-urethane anesthetized, vagotomized, paralyzed and artificially ventilated cats, respiratory response to either repetitive electrical stimulation or microinjection of morphine in the rostral pons was studied by recording the phrenic nerve discharges. In the region of the nucleus parabrachialis (PBN) and its ventral reticular formation, electrical stimulation delivered in 20 successive expiratory periods caused the respiratory depression to last long after the termination of stimulation. This respiratory-depressant effect could be reversed by naloxone. By a single electrical stimulation delivered in most of these effective sites, a phasic phrenic excitation was consistently elicited in the period of both expiration and inspiration, and the reduction in expiratory duration could be observed when the stimulation was delivered in expiratory period. In the microinjection study of 2.66 nmol morphine in 0.1 microliter in the localized area of the dorsolateral portion of the PBN, a significant reduction in both respiratory outputs and the rate of increase in inspiratory activity could be induced within 1 min after the application. The respiratory depression thus caused by both methods was quite similar in several respiratory variables. Thus an involvement of the PBN region in long-lasting respiratory modulation mediated by endogenous opioid system is suggested.