Salivary response to stimulation of gastric branches of vagus nerve

¹ Division of Psychiatric Research, Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia

In adult cats anesthetized with ether and immobilized with Flaxedil, submaxillary salivation was elicited following electrical stimulation of the central cut ends of the dorsal and ventral gastric branches of the vagus nerve. This response was abolished when the lingual nerve was severed above the terminal branching of the chorda tympani. Ipsilateral or contralateral section of the vagus nerve in the neck had no effect on the salivary response; however, it disappeared completely when the vagi were cut bilaterally. This shows that the visceral afferents mediating this response, from either gastric branch of the vagus, travel centrally in both vagi. These studies demonstrate a feedback circuit from the stomach to the salivary glands.

Key Words: salivary reflexes • submaxillary glands • visceral afferents

Submitted on January 5, 1965