1. The stimulation of the thoracic or cervical vagus usually results in excitation of the jejunal movements followed by the inhibitory effect. In the present experiments the cause of the inhibitory response was investigated by the application of various agents affecting the nervous structures in the intestinal wall.
2. The movements of the jejunum, 15cm long and severed from the rest of the intestine, were recorded using the balloon method on dogs anesthetized with urethane and morphine or pentobarbital sodium.
3. The weak stimulation of the vagus caused, in general, the excitatory response only; on the other hand, the strong stimulation produced an initial excitation followed by inhibition.
4. After the application of 0.4% cocaine solution into the jejunal lumen for 3min, the response to the strong stimulation of the vagus reversed to excitatory. It may be considered that cocaine could paralyse the inhibitory neurone in the myenteric plexus of the intestinal wall.
5. The reverse phenomenon similar to that elicited by the application of cocaine was obtained also after the intravenous injection of tubocurarine or nicotine, but it was difficult with the intravenous injection of hexamethonium bromide. It may be supposed that ganglion-blocking agents such as nicotine and tubocurarine could affect the synapses of the inhibitory neurones more powerfully than those of the excitatory ones.
6. After atropinization the excitatory response of the vagus reversed to the inhibitory one.
7. Provided that there are at least two kinds of the effector neurones in the myenteric plexus, the excitatory and inhibitory neurones, and that these neurones connect synaptically with the presynaptic fibers in the vagus, it may be considered that the results described above could be easily explained.
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