THE BULBAR INHIBITORY MECHANISM IN CONCUSSION

Abstract

In an examination of the patellar reflex in concussion in the anesthetized cat, some motor discharge occurred at the blow and a brief impairment of the reflex was followed by a pronounced and longer lasting hyperreflexia before return to normal. A reversible depression of the excitability of the bulbar inhibitory mechanism in general paralleled this reflex augmentation, suggesting that release from bulbar inhibition may have been a factor in its production.