Central effects of 5-HT on activity of respiratory and hypoglossally innervated muscles in newborn kittens

1. In decerebrate kittens (n = 29), electrical activity was studied in the 3rd intercartilaginous (inspiratory), the 9th internal intercostal (expiratory) and the hypoglossally innervated muscles (geniohyoid m. and sternohyoid m.) evoked by the application of 5-HT (n = 16) or related agents (5-HT1A agonist, 8-OH-DPAT (n = 6) and 5-HT2 agonist, DOI floor of the IVth ventricle. 2. The application of a control solution (n = 2) produced no significant changes either in minute inspiratory frequency (Fi) or in the electrical activity of the muscles studied. Except for these controls, only one trial with one dose of one drug was performed in a given kitten. 3. A dose-related decrease in Fi was observed in response to 5-HT. Low doses (50-500 nmol, n1 = 8) induced a long-lasting bradypnoea; high doses (5000-10,000 nmol, n2 = 8) induced prolonged periods of apnoea. 4. The apnoeas observed in tracheotomized (n = 3) or non-tracheotomized (n2 = 8) kittens were mainly of central origin and linked to the lengthening of expiratory time. The expiratory muscle activation came on with the reinforcement of the activity of hypoglossally innervated muscles. 5. Application of agonists showed that both the 5-HT-dependent modulation of Fi and the effects of 5-HT on the activity of the muscles studied resulted predominantly from activation of 5-HT2 receptors.