Inhibition des activités spinales à caractère locomoteur par une modalité particulière de stimulation somatique chez le lapin

SummaryIn decerebrate rabbit preparations, a gentle pressure exerted on the dorsal skin area can completely suppress the rhythmic, locomotor-like movements or the corresponding nerve discharges which easily develop in such preparations. This inhibition can also be obtained on spinal preparation (and thus does not depend upon supraspinal levels); its maximal effect (i.e. minimal pressure threshold) is located at the lumbar level. It involves tonic receptors belonging both to the skin and to muscle and/or joints. This phenomenon probably plays a role in the so-called “hypnotic akinesia” which, as is well known, can easily be elicited in rabbits put in dorsal decubitus.