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Published on: October 25, 2019
An interdependent model of central/peripheral chemoreception: evidence and implications for ventilatory control
Curtis A Smith1, Hubert V Forster, Grégory M Blain
1The John Rankin Laboratory of Pulmonary Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53706, USA. casmith4@wisc.edu
Abstract:
In this review we discuss the implications for ventilatory control of newer evidence suggesting that central and peripheral chemoreceptors are not functionally separate but rather that they are dependent upon one another such that the sensitivity of the medullary chemoreceptors is critically determined by input from the carotid body chemoreceptors and vice versa i.e., they are interdependent. We examine potential interactions of the interdependent central and carotid body (CB) chemoreceptors with other ventilatory-related inputs such as central hypoxia, lung stretch, and exercise. The limitations of current approaches addressing this question are discussed and future studies are suggested.
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