The Component Reflexes of Micturition in the Cat

Barrington, F. J. F.

doi:10.1093/brain/54.2.177

Cited by 228 publications

(120 citation statements)

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“…This is consistent with an important role for pudendal urethral afferents activating the augmenting reflex to produce efficient voiding in cats (Barrington 1931(Barrington , 1941 and rats (Peng et al 2008). There is also evidence suggesting that the augmenting reflex operates in humans.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Improved bladder emptying in urinary retention by electrical stimulation of pudendal afferents

et al. 2008

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Urinary retention is the inability to empty the bladder completely, and may result from bladder hypocontractility, increases in outlet resistance, or both. Chronic urinary retention can lead to several urological complications and is often refractory to pharmacologic, behavioral, and surgical treatments. We sought to determine whether electrical stimulation of sensory fibers in the pudendal nerve could engage an augmenting reflex and thereby improve bladder emptying in an animal model of urinary retention. We measured the efficiency of bladder emptying with and without concomitant electrical stimulation of pudendal nerve afferents in urethane anesthetized rats. Voiding efficiency (VE=voided volume/initial volume) was reduced from 72±7% to 29±7% following unilateral transection of the sensory branch of the pudendal nerve (UST) and from 70±5% to 18±4% following bilateral transection (BST). Unilateral electrical stimulation of the proximal transected sensory pudendal nerve during distention-evoked voiding contractions significantly improved VE. Low intensity stimulation at frequencies of 1-50 Hz increased VE to 40-51% following UST and to 39-49% following BST, while high intensity stimulation was ineffective at increasing VE. The increase in VE was mediated by increases in the duration of distention-evoked voiding bladder contractions, rather than increases in contraction amplitude. These results are consistent with an essential role for pudendal sensory feedback in efficient bladder emptying, and raise the possibility that electrical activation of pudendal nerve afferents may provide a new approach to restore efficient bladder emptying in persons with urinary retention.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Improved bladder emptying in urinary retention by electrical stimulation of pudendal afferents

et al. 2008

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“…2B). Barrington (11) reported that the reflex produced by running water through the urethra relaxed the urethra and effected bladder contraction. Accordingly, when micturition takes place, it may be necessary for the urethra or the outlet of the bladder to be relaxed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In vivo effects of drugs that act on the autonomic nervous system on the rat urinary bladder contraction accompanying micturition.

et al. 1987

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Abstract-We prepared an experimental system to study the effects of drugs on urinary bladder contraction and micturition simultaneously in rats anesthetized with urethane (1 g/kg, s.c.) and a-chloralose (25 mg/kg, s.c.). When Tyrode's solution was infused at a constant rate (0.8-1 ml/10 min) through a needle inserted into the bladder from the left ureter, the bladder pressure gradually and then steeply rose, and micturition took place.These changes in bladder pressure and micturition were constantly repeated. In this model, drugs which partially inhibited the bladder contractile force, e.g., atropine (0.01-1 mg/kg, i.v.) and hexamethonium (C6, 5 mg/kg, i.v.) increased the frequency of bladder contraction instead of decreasing the amount of solution excreted from the penis by bladder contraction. The rate of afferent discharges during bladder filling was increased after injection of atropine or C6, and this increase was considered to be responsible for the in duction of the increase in the frequency of bladder contraction.Drugs which inhibited the bladder contraction and interrupted micturition, e.g., C6 (20 mg/kg, i.v.) raised the bladder pressure until the solution leaked from the penis.As phentolamine (5 mg/kg, i.v.) or propranolol (1 mg/kg, i.v.) did not facilitate bladder motility but rather inhibited it, the inhibitory action of sympathetic nerves on bladder motility was considered to be weak in rats. This model was useful for studying the effect of drugs on bladder motility and micturition reflex.

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“…That robust sustained bladder contractions could not be evoked in the acute SCT cat indicated this low frequency pudendo-vesicle reflex is associated with the Aδ afferent fiber mediated spino-bulbo-spinal micturition reflex (Barrington, 1931. In cats, this supraspinal micturition reflex loop involves an initial convergence of pudendal and pelvic afferents in the sacral spinal column (de Groat, 2006, Thor, et al, 1989, Ueyama, et al, 1987, an ascending projection to the pontine micturition center (Blok, et al, 1995), and a descending projection terminating in the sacral parasympathetic nucleus (SPN) (Holstege and Mouton, 2003).…”

Section: Sustained Bladder Contractions Evoked By Pudendal Afferentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bladder activation by selective stimulation of pudendal nerve afferents in the cat

Yoo

Woock

Grill

2008

Experimental Neurology

114

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Bladder contractions evoked by pudendal nerve stimulation in both spinal intact and spinal transected cats support the possibility of restoring urinary function in persons with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). However, electrically evoked bladder responses in persons with SCI were limited to transient contractions at relatively low pressures. This prompted the present study, which presents a detailed quantification of the responses evoked by selective stimulation of individual branches of the pudendal nerve at different stimulation frequencies. In spinal intact cats anesthetized with α-chloralose, selective frequency dependent electrical activation of the sensory (2 Hz ≤ f ≤ 50 Hz), cranial sensory (f ≤ 5 Hz), dorsal genital (f ≥ 20 Hz) and rectal perineal (f ≤ 10 Hz) branches of the pudendal nerve evoked sustained bladder contractions dependent on the stimulation frequency. Contractions evoked by selective electrical stimulation resulted in significant increases in voiding efficiency compared to bladder emptying by distension evoked contractions (p ANOVA < 0.05). Acute spinal transection abolished reflex bladder contractions evoked by low frequency stimulation of the cranial sensory or rectal perineal branches, whereas contractions evoked by high frequency stimulation of the dorsal genital branch remained intact. This study presents evidence for two distinct micturition pathways (spino-bulbo-spinal vs. spinal reflexes) activated by selective afferent pudendal nerve stimulation, the latter of which may be applied to restore bladder function in persons with SCI. Keywords electrical stimulation; cranial sensory nerve; deep perineal branch; lower urinary tract physiology; external urethral sphincter; spinal cord injury; pudendo-pudendal reflex; spinal-bulbo-spinal; prostatic urethra; dorsal nerve of penis

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The Component Reflexes of Micturition in the Cat

Cited by 228 publications

References 0 publications

Improved bladder emptying in urinary retention by electrical stimulation of pudendal afferents

Improved bladder emptying in urinary retention by electrical stimulation of pudendal afferents

In vivo effects of drugs that act on the autonomic nervous system on the rat urinary bladder contraction accompanying micturition.

Bladder activation by selective stimulation of pudendal nerve afferents in the cat

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