Related Experiment Videos
Postinspiratory neuronal activities during behavioral control, sleep, and wakefulness
1Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock 79430.
Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)
|June 1, 1992
Summary
Researchers investigated "postinspiratory" cells in cats but found diverse cell activities during early expiration. This suggests multiple cell types, not a single class, regulate this respiratory phase.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- The existence of distinct "postinspiratory" cells regulating respiration has been hypothesized.
- These cells were thought to be active during early expiration, influencing subsequent respiratory phases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the activity of putative postinspiratory cells in intact, unanesthetized cats.
- To characterize neuronal activity during sleep, wakefulness, and behavioral inhibition of inspiration.
Main Methods:
- Electrophysiological recordings were performed in intact, unanesthetized cats.
- Neuronal activity was analyzed during different behavioral states and respiratory maneuvers.
Main Results:
- No specific cell population with consistent activity exclusively in early expiration was identified.
- Diverse neuronal populations, including phase-spanning, augmenting, decrementing, and tonic expiratory cells, showed activity in early expiration.
- Neuronal activity patterns varied across different behavioral states and during inspiratory inhibition.
Conclusions:
- The early phase of expiration is not solely controlled by a single class of "postinspiratory" cells.
- Respiratory control during early expiration involves a heterogeneous network of various neuronal types.
- Neuronal activity in this phase is dynamic and state-dependent.