Spinal inhibition of phrenic motoneurones by stimulation of afferents from leg muscle in the cat: blockade by strychnine.

1. Phrenic nerve responses to stimulation of calf muscle receptors or their afferents were studied in paralysed high (C1) spinal cats whose phrenic nerve activity was evoked by activation of the intercostal-to-phrenic reflex. End-tidal PCO2 was maintained at a constant level by means of a servo-controlled ventilator. 2. Physical stimulation of calf muscles or electrical stimulation of the tibial nerve uniformly caused inhibition of phrenic activity evoked by facilitatory conditioning stimuli. The degree of inhibition gradually decreased as muscle stimulation continued, and there was a post-stimulus augmentation of phrenic activity. 3. Pre-treatment with subconvulsive doses of strychnine, an antagonist of the neurotransmitter glycine, partially or completely blocked the inhibitory effects on phrenic activity of muscle-afferent stimulation. The blockade was reversible with time. 4. Pre-treatment with a subconvulsive dose of bicuculline, an antagonist of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), had no effect on the inhibitory mechanism. 5. We conclude that glycine is an important transmitter of the inhibition of phrenic motoneurones induced by muscle-afferent stimulation, but that GABA is not involved in this inhibitory mechanism.