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. 1978 Mar;61(3):708–713. doi: 10.1172/JCI108983

Depression of Ventilation by Dopamine in Man

EVIDENCE FOR AN EFFECT ON THE CHEMORECEPTOR REFLEX

Michael J Welsh 1,2, Donald D Heistad 1,2, Francois M Abboud 1,2
PMCID: PMC372584  PMID: 641149

Abstract

Dopamine is present in the carotid body and has been postulated to be an inhibitory neurotransmitter. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of dopamine on ventilation in man and to examine its mechanism of action. Dopamine (0.5-10 μg/kg per min) was infused in eight normal men at different levels of arterial chemoreceptor activity, produced by varying the inspired Po2. During normoxia dopamine produced a small decrease in minute ventilation (V̇e) and an increase in arterial Pco2. When arterial chemoreceptors were stimulated by hypoxia, infusion of dopamine produced a marked initial depression of V̇e followed by a sustained although less pronounced decrease in V̇e. An increase in Paco2 and a decrease in Pao2 were also observed. When arterial chemoreceptor activity was suppressed by hyperoxia, infusion of dopamine did not affect ventilation. Subjects also breathed a hypercarbic, hyperoxic gas mixture. The hypercarbia produces hyperventilation by stimulating central chemoreceptors, whereas the hyperoxia suppresses peripheral chemoreceptors. Dopamine did not alter ventilation while the subjects were breathing this gas mixture.

These studies suggest that dopamine suppresses ventilation in man through an action on the arterial chemoreceptor reflex. These findings support the hypothesis that dopamine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the carotid body, and that release of dopamine may modulate the sensitivity of peripheral arterial chemoreceptors.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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