Differential sensitivity to bradykinin of esophageal distension-sensitive mechanoreceptors in vagal and sympathetic afferents of the opossum.

1. Single-unit activity was recorded from afferent fibers in the cervical vagus and thoracic sympathetic nerves in the opossum. Seventy-six fibers that responded to balloon distension (100 mmHg for 10 s) of the smooth muscle portion of the esophagus were selected for further study. 2. Forty-nine distension-sensitive afferents were identified in the vagus nerve. The stimulus response function (SRF) of 41 fibers behaved as "low-threshold mechanoreceptors" (LTM), with mean threshold value of 0.29 +/- 0.17 mmHg and saturation pressure of 50-70 mmHg. All fibers demonstrated background activity, with a mean rate of 8.83 +/- 0.93 imp/s (range 0.5-31.25). 3. Twenty-seven distension-sensitive afferents were identified in the thoracic sympathetic chain (T6-T8) and splanchnic nerve. The SRF study revealed two types of fibers: 1) a wide-dynamic-range mechanonociceptor (WDRMN) with a mean response threshold of 3.43 +/- 0.90 mmHg (n = 15) and 2) a "high-threshold mechanonociceptor" (HTMN) with a mean response threshold...