Influence of central respiratory activity on the cough response in anesthetized dogs

Cough responses evoked by mechanical stimulation of the tracheobronchial mucosa in anesthetized and tracheostomized dogs were studied. The most common response was a group of coughs. Phase relationships between coughing and spontaneous respiration during the cough initiation and resolution periods were categorized as either synchronized or unsynchronized. We defined the synchronization as the coincidence of an expiratory thrust and the early-expiratory phase of respiration. During the cough initiation period, the incidence of synchronization increased as central respiratory activity was enhanced by hypercapnia or as the cough center's activity was suppressed by deep anesthesia. Synchronization decreased as central expiratory activity was enhanced by expiratory threshold loading. During the cough resolution period, synchronization occurred in conjunction with a gradual decrease in the cough center's activity. Coughing could be evoked when the dog was made apneic either by hyperventilation or by the Hering-Breuer reflex. In either case, apnea persisted after coughing subsided. These findings suggest that mechanical stimulation directly activates the cough center rather than the respiratory center; and that synchronization is determined by the relative strengths of the respiratory and cough center's activities.