Excitation and inhibition of medullary inspiratory neurons by two types of burst inspiratory neurons in the cat.

In Nembutal-anesthetized and artificially ventilated cats, we studied the connectivity of burst inspiratory (I) neurons in the Bötzinger complex and the ventral respiratory group (VRG) with spike-triggered averaging methods. Burst I neurons exhibited tonic (I-TON) or decrementing (I-DEC) firing patterns. Spikes of I-TON neurons induced monosynaptic EPSPs in intracellularly recorded I neurons of both the VRG and the dorsal respiratory group (DRG). Spikes of I-DEC neurons induced monosynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in both VRG and DRG I neurons.