Role of the carotid body and of afferent vagal stimuli in the arousal response to airway occlusion in sleeping dogs.

Abstract

We studied the independent effects of bilateral carotid body denervation and bilateral cold blockade of the vagus nerves on the arousal response to airway occlusion during sleep. Dogs breathed through a cuffed endotracheal tube inserted via a chronic tracheostomy, and airway occlusion was imposed at end-expiration and maintained until the moment of arousal. Arterial O2 saturation (SaO2) was measured with an ear oximeter, and sleep stage was determined by electroencephalographic and behavioral criteria. Mean +/- SE SaO2 values at arousal were 88.7 +/- 2.7% during slow-wave sleep, and 84.9 +/- 3.5% during rapid-eye-movement sleep (0.05 less than p less than 0.1). After carotid body denervation..