The inflammatory reflex: the current model should be revised

In this issue of Experimental Physiology, Bratton et al. (2012) report negative results. The authors have failed to find a synaptic connection from vagal preganglionic neurons to splenic sympathetic postganglionic neurons in the rat. Furthermore, the authors have shown that vagal efferent neurons do not drive the ongoing activity of splenic neurons. Although negative results are a common subject of jokes among scientists, they can be...