The effect of acute rise in intracranial pressure on the sympathetic cardiac, vertebral and phrenic nerve activities.

A transient rise of intracranial pressure in cats under chloralose-urethane anaesthesia increased the activity of the sympathetic vertebral nerve, cardiac nerve and in the first phase phrenic nerve. If the vagus nerves were intact this rise in sympathetic activity was associated with bradycardia. These effects developed with a delay, as a rule after abatement of the transient intracranial pressure rise. The authors suggest that Cushing's reaction is caused by medullary ischaemia and development of local metabolic acidosis activating simultaneously the sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons in the medulla oblongata.