Localization and Function of the Medullary Vasomotor Center in Infracollicularly Decerebrated Cats

¹ Department of Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

The medullary vasomotor centers were studied in three cats, decerebrated below the mesencephalon four to nine days before the $$$cute experiment. Exploration of the dorsal regions of the medulla oblongata revealed that the vasomotor active regions had about the same extension as in intact animals. Medullary pressor and depressor reflexes, elicited by electrical stimulation of a peripheral nerve and a sinus nerve, were also of a normal type in the decerebrated cats. The results indicate that the medullary vasomotor center constitutes a region of nuclear character with cell bodies and synapses functioning as a tonic and reflex center. In this respect, it seems to function normally even after the degeneration of vasomotor pathways from higher centers.

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