Spinal interneurons and micturition reflexes: Focus on ' characterization of a spinal, urine storage reflex, inhibitory center and its regulation by 5-HT1A receptors in female cats'

摘要

GENERATIONS OF EFFORT HAVE been devoted to understanding how the human body stores and periodically releases urine. Micturition is regulated by neural circuits in the brain and spinal cord that coordinate the activity of the smooth and striated muscles of the lower urinary tract (LUT) (7, 9,10, 12). These circuits act as on/off switches to shift the urinary tract between two modes of operation: storage and elimination. Storage and periodic elimination of urine requires a complex neural control system that coordinates activities of a variety of effector organs including bladder smooth muscle and smooth and striated muscle of the urethral sphincters and multiple levels of nervous system integration (15, 16).