Carotid body chemoceptors: physiological role in buffering fall in blood pressure during sleep.

In cats whose aortic nerves were severed subsequent deafferentation of the carotid body chemoceptors (the carotid sinus baroceptors remaining intact) did not change arterial pressure during wakefulness or light sleep, but the falls in pressure during deep sleep were markedly exaggerated. Subsequent baroceptive denervation did not modify the hypotensive effect.