- Poster presentation
- Open access
- Published:
Serotonergic modulation of respiratory neural activity during tadpole development
Respiratory Research volume 2, Article number: P23 (2001)
The respiratory physiology of bullfrogs undergoes important modifications during development [1,2,3]. The dramatic changes in the partitioning of gas exchange function between lungs and gills during development require important alterations in the neural mechanisms controlling ventilation [4,5]. Yet, the mechanisms at the basis of these changes in respiratory motor behaviour remain poorly understood.
Hilaire and Duron proposed that maturation of the mammalian respiratory network may be defined, at least partly, by serotonergic modulatory processes [6]. To test the hypothesis that serotonergic modulation of respiratory neural activity changes during tadpole development, the effects of serotonin (5-HT) on neural correlates of respiratory activity were assessed using an in vitro brainstemspinal cord preparation.
Preparations from tadpoles of developmental stages varying between TK stagesVI and XXV were superfused with mock CSF containing 5-HT concentrations ranging from 0–25 μM. Neural correlates of gill and lung ventilation were recorded extracellularly from cranial nerve rootletsV andX.
In younger tadpoles (facultative air breathers; TK stages VI-XV) 5-HT bath application attenuated the frequency and amplitude of respiratory-related motor output (both fictive gill and lung ventilation), an effect most notable at high concentrations. In more mature animals (obligate air breathers; TK stages XVI-XXV), the effects of 5-HT bath application on fictive lung ventilation was bi-phasic. Fictive lung ventilation frequency was enhanced at low 5-HT concentrations (0.5 μ) and was depressed by higher 5-HT concentration. Moreover, 5-HT-induced attenuation of fictive gill ventilation was stronger in obligate air breathers than in preparations from younger tadpoles.
These results indicate that serotonergic modulation of respiratory activity changes substantially during tadpole development. Such changes in modulatory influences may contribute to the maturation of the respiratory control system in this species.
References
West NH, Burggren WW: Gill and lung ventilation responses to steady-state aquatic hypoxia and hyperoxia in the bullfrog tadpole. Respir Physiol. 1982, 47: 165-176. 10.1016/0034-5687(82)90109-8.
Burggren WW, Infantino RL: Am Zool. 1994, 34: 238-246.
Burggren WW, Pinder AW: Ontogeny of cardiovascular and respiratory physiology in lower vertebrates. Annu Rev Physiol. 1991, 53: 107-135. 10.1146/annurev.ph.53.030191.000543.
Torgerson CS, Gdovin MJ, Remmers JE: Sites of respiratory rhythmogenesis during development in the tadpole. Am J Physiol. 2001, 280: R913-920.
Torgerson CS, Gdovin MJ, Brandt R, Remmers JE: Location of central respiratory chemoreceptors in the developing tadpole. Am J Physiol. 2001, 280: R921-928.
Hilaire G, Duron B: Maturation of the mammalian respiratory system. Physiol Rev. 1999, 79: 325-60.
Acknowledgement
R. Kinkead is a Parker B. Francis Fellow in Pulmonary Research. This research was supported by the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gulemetova, R., Kinkead, R. Serotonergic modulation of respiratory neural activity during tadpole development. Respir Res 2 (Suppl 1), P23 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1186/rr140
Received:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/rr140