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Postnatal maturation of breathing stability and loop gain: the role of carotid chemoreceptor development

Bradley A Edwards1, Scott A Sands, Philip J Berger

  • 1Division of Sleep Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. baedwards@partners.org

Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology
|June 19, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Periodic breathing, common in preterm infants, is explained by changes in carotid body function and loop gain, offering insights into respiratory control across the lifespan. This phenomenon reappears in adults under specific conditions.

Area of Science:

  • Physiology
  • Respiratory Control
  • Neonatal Physiology

Background:

  • Breathing patterns vary significantly throughout life, presenting challenges for respiratory control models.
  • Periodic breathing is notably observed in preterm infants, peaking in the first month and resolving by six months.
  • This breathing pattern also reappears in adults at high altitudes or with heart failure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a quantitative understanding of unstable breathing patterns using the concept of loop gain.
  • To investigate the role of carotid body function in the age-dependent prevalence of periodic breathing.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on respiratory control and periodic breathing.
  • Application of the loop gain framework to analyze breathing instability.
  • Focus on the influence of carotid body chemoreceptors.

Main Results:

  • Loop gain provides a quantitative framework for understanding periodic breathing.
  • Changes in carotid body function are strongly implicated in the age-related patterns of periodic breathing.
  • The model explains why periodic breathing is transient in infancy and reappears in specific adult conditions.

Conclusions:

  • Carotid body function is a critical determinant of periodic breathing across the lifespan.
  • The loop gain concept offers valuable insights into the mechanisms of respiratory instability.
  • Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for respiratory control research and clinical applications.

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