Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Methods for Detecting Cough and Airway Inflammation in Mice
Published on: August 2, 2024
Sensory regulation of the cough reflex
1Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia. s.mazzone@hfi.unimelb.edu.au
Abstract:
Coughing is a highly coordinated reflex that serves to protect the airways from a variety of potentially harmful stimuli. However, in airways disease the cough reflex threshold is lowered and coughing can become exaggerated and inappropriate. Excessive coughing not only affects an individual's quality of life, but may contribute to the pathology of the disease. Understanding the neural components of the cough reflex is essential for establishing new treatments for cough disorders. This review will summarize the current understanding of the afferent neural pathways mediating cough, including how interactions between airway afferent nerve fibre subtypes may modulate the cough reflex pathway and underlie the manifestation of cough disorders.
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