Summary
It was established that electric stimulation of the central endings of different gill nerves in fish cause a reflex change of heart rate. Weak stimulation results in increased frequency of the heart rate. Stronger stimulation causes decreased frequency or complete arrest of the heart. Simultaneous stimulation of two gill nerves by the current which caused tachycardia when each nerve was stimulated separately, caused cardiac inhibition. Simultaneous stimulation of two gill nerves, the separate stimulation of one of which resulted in decrease of the heart rate and of the other in increase, caused even more pronounced inhibition of the heart. If the strength of stimulation of one of the gill nerves is kept constant the effect of the reflex action changes depending on the number of the intact efferent nerves of the heart. If all the nerves are intact the frequency of the heartbeat is decreased, while if a number of them are cut tachycardia results. This provides evidence against the qualitative specificity of the individual afferent or efferent elements in the reflex are under investigation. It points to the dependence of the quality of the reflex effect on the number of the nerve elements involved in this reaction.
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Kulaev, B.S. The nervous regulation of cardiac rhythm in fish communication II. Bull Exp Biol Med 45, 398–402 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00781241
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00781241