The effects of lumbosacral deafferentation on pontine micturition centre-evoked voiding in the decerebrate cat.

The ability of electrical stimulation of the pontine micturition centre (PMC) to produce voiding following lumbosacral deafferentation was examined. Transection of the S3 to L7 dorsal resulted in the abolition of distension-evoked micturition while electrical stimulation of the PMC continued to produce micturition. Removal of the L7 to S2 dorsal root ganglia did not alter the PMC-evoked response, nor did transection of the dorsal roots in more rostral lumbar and thoracic segments. It appears that the PMC can activate a central neural network and produce micturition independently of lumbosacral reflex pathways.