Biomaterial Database

Periaqueductal grey stimulation: an association between selective inhibition of dorsal horn neurones and changes in peripheral circulation. 1983

A W Duggan, and C R Morton

In barbiturate-anaesthetized and paralysed cats, dorsal horn neurones were studied during electrical stimulation of the periaqueductal grey matter (PAG) and the midbrain ventral tegmentum (VT). Responses to impulses in unmyelinated primary afferents were selectively inhibited by stimulation in the PAG, whereas stimulation in the VT non-selectively reduced both these responses and those to innocuous cutaneous stimuli. Stimulation in the PAG but not the VT produced changes in peripheral circulation. This was observed as a rise in the levels of carbon dioxide in expired air, a rise in muscle temperature in the hind limb and a fall in skin temperature of the pinna or glabrous skin. The combination of suppression of spinal transmission of impulses related to pain and an increase in perfusion of muscles may be a mechanism appropriate to coping with a potentially injurious environment.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008636	Mesencephalon	The middle of the three primitive cerebral vesicles of the embryonic brain. Without further subdivision, midbrain develops into a short, constricted portion connecting the PONS and the DIENCEPHALON. Midbrain contains two major parts, the dorsal TECTUM MESENCEPHALI and the ventral TEGMENTUM MESENCEPHALI, housing components of auditory, visual, and other sensorimoter systems.	Midbrain,Mesencephalons,Midbrains
D009132	Muscles	Contractile tissue that produces movement in animals.	Muscle Tissue,Muscle,Muscle Tissues,Tissue, Muscle,Tissues, Muscle
D010812	Physical Stimulation	Act of eliciting a response from a person or organism through physical contact.	Stimulation, Physical,Physical Stimulations,Stimulations, Physical
D012119	Respiration	The act of breathing with the LUNGS, consisting of INHALATION, or the taking into the lungs of the ambient air, and of EXHALATION, or the expelling of the modified air which contains more CARBON DIOXIDE than the air taken in (Blakiston's Gould Medical Dictionary, 4th ed.). This does not include tissue respiration (	Breathing
D001831	Body Temperature	The measure of the level of heat of a human or animal.	Organ Temperature,Body Temperatures,Organ Temperatures,Temperature, Body,Temperature, Organ,Temperatures, Body,Temperatures, Organ
D002245	Carbon Dioxide	A colorless, odorless gas that can be formed by the body and is necessary for the respiration cycle of plants and animals.	Carbonic Anhydride,Anhydride, Carbonic,Dioxide, Carbon
D002415	Cats	The domestic cat, Felis catus, of the carnivore family FELIDAE, comprising over 30 different breeds. The domestic cat is descended primarily from the wild cat of Africa and extreme southwestern Asia. Though probably present in towns in Palestine as long ago as 7000 years, actual domestication occurred in Egypt about 4000 years ago. (From Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th ed, p801)	Felis catus,Felis domesticus,Domestic Cats,Felis domestica,Felis sylvestris catus,Cat,Cat, Domestic,Cats, Domestic,Domestic Cat
D002535	Cerebral Aqueduct	Narrow channel in the MESENCEPHALON that connects the third and fourth CEREBRAL VENTRICLES.	Aqueduct of Sylvius,Aqueductus Cerebri,Mesencephalic Aqueduct,Mesencephalic Duct,Sylvian Aqueduct,Aqueduct, Cerebral,Aqueduct, Mesencephalic,Aqueduct, Sylvian,Aqueducts, Cerebral,Aqueducts, Mesencephalic,Aqueducts, Sylvian,Aqueductus Cerebrus,Cerebral Aqueducts,Cerebri, Aqueductus,Cerebrus, Aqueductus,Duct, Mesencephalic,Ducts, Mesencephalic,Mesencephalic Aqueducts,Mesencephalic Ducts,Sylvian Aqueducts,Sylvius Aqueduct
D004558	Electric Stimulation	Use of electric potential or currents to elicit biological responses.	Stimulation, Electric,Electrical Stimulation,Electric Stimulations,Electrical Stimulations,Stimulation, Electrical,Stimulations, Electric,Stimulations, Electrical
D004594	Electrophysiology	The study of the generation and behavior of electrical charges in living organisms particularly the nervous system and the effects of electricity on living organisms.