Effects of ipsilateral and contralateral cervical phrenic afferents stimulation on phrenic motor unit activity in the cat.

The phrenic-to-phrenic inhibitory reflex has been analyzed using recordings of activity of single C5-phrenic motor units (PMUs). After ipsilateral or contralateral stimulation of the C6-phrenic root, early and late PMUs exhibit a similar inhibition. After contralateral stimulation, the duration of the inhibition is smaller and the threshold stimulus is higher than the corresponding values observed after ipsilateral stimulation. The latency of the inhibition is similar for both stimulations. Hemispinalization, contralateral to the recording site, affects weakly the phrenic-to-phrenic reflex. We conclude that early and late PMUs receive a similar inhibitory input from phrenic afferents and that the inhibition observed after cervical phrenic nerve stimulation may involve spinal cord circuits.