The role of N-cholinoreceptors in somatovisceral intersystemic interactions in early rat ontogenesis

Interaction of slow-wave rhythmic components of cardiac, respiratory and motor activities was analyzed in non-narcotized of newborn 1-day-old (P1) and 16-day-old (P16) Wistar rat pups under normal and impaired cholinergic regulation. Functional activity of these three systems is rhythmic, and coordination of their functioning is an important element of the mechanism of adaptive rearrangements under changing factors of the external and internal environment. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine (eserine) was used to increase the level of endogenous acetylcholine and enhance cholinergic effects. To reveal the role of N-cholinoreceptors in intersystemic somatovisceral interactions (ISI), we performed blockade of this receptor type with benzohexonium. Administration of physostigmine leads to the development of a number of pathological reactions and a decrease in the level of ISI in all ranges of modulating rhythms in rats of both ages. ISI in younger rats appear to be more resistant to changes in the level of cholinergic activation. Blockade of N-cholinoreceptors causes inhibition of ISI at P1 and partially to their potentialization at P16. The activation of cholinoreactive structures, which occurred against the background of cholinoreceptors blockade, reduces the pathological effects of physostigmine in animals of both ages, but at the same time leads to an attenuation of ISI. This weakening is more pronounced in 16-day old rats, which may indicate the formation of the definitive level of cholinergic regulation in the first weeks of postnatal ontogenesis.