Ventilatory afterdischarge in the awake goat

Ventilatory afterdischarge (VAD) has been defined as a persistent gradually diminishing elevation of ventilatory activity that occurs after withdrawal of a variety of respiratory stimuli. The phenomenon has been well documented in the anesthetized cat, piglet, and lamb in response to electrical stimulation of the carotid sinus nerve. We sought to determine whether VAD could be demonstrated in the standing awake goat (n = 7) by use of an extracorporeal circuit to provide square-wave physiological stimulation of the carotid chemoreceptor (carotid body PO2 40 Torr). After 5 min of isolated carotid body stimulation, the mean time constants for diminishing inspired minute ventilation, tidal volume, and respiratory frequency were 27.7, 34.5, and 25.5 s, respectively. These results indicate that VAD does exist in the awake goat model. A critical factor for the demonstration of VAD is the maintenance of systemic arterial PCO2 (isocapnia) during the period of increased ventilatory activity. If arterial PCO2 is allowed to decrease even slightly during the hyperventilation, the magnitude and duration of VAD are greatly attenuated.