An investigation of the tachycardia produced by intracerebro-ventricular injections of isoprenaline in mice.

1. Isoprenaline, 3.5-20 ng, injected intracerebroventricularly in atropinized mice under pentobarbitone anaesthesia produced a dose-dependent tachycardia. 2. Pretreatment with either reserpine or pempidine blocked nervously-mediated tachycardia as shown by marked reduction of that due to stimulation of the spinal outflow in pithed mice. After pretreatment with these drugs, intracerebroventricular isoprenaline caused tachycardia of a similar degree and time course to that in mice not so pretreated. 3. Pretreatment with either reserpine or pempidine caused supersensitivity to the tachycardia due to intravenous isoprenaline. 4. When allowance was made for this supersensitivity in the effect of intracerebroventricular isoprenaline in pretreated mice, a small dose-dependent residual effect remained that could be attributed to leakage of isoprenaline into the peripheral circulation. 5. This was confirmed by the appearance of a late-developing tachycardia on intracerebroventricular injection of isoprenaline in spinal mice. 6. It is therefore concluded that the tachycardia caused by intracerebroventricular isoprenaline in mice is, at least initially, of central origin.