A Respiratory Reflex as Affected by an Anticholinesterase

¹ From the Department of Physiology, Medical College of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina

Small doses of the potent anticholinesterase, TEPP, introduced via a cisternal puncture produce a marked potentiation of the respiratory reflex response induced by electrical stimulation of Hering's nerve in the dog. Larger doses of TEPP cause an inhibition of this reflex followed by respiratory failure. These experiments lend suggestive evidence that a neurohumoral mediator (e.g. acetylcholine) may be a component of respiratory control.