Correlated and uncorrelated high-frequency oscillations in phrenic and recurrent laryngeal neurograms

1. Power spectral analysis of phrenic and recurrent laryngeal (or efferent vagal) inspiratory discharge activity from anesthetized cats revealed a peak within the 60- to 110-Hz range in all spectra, plus a peak within the 40- to 60-Hz range in the laryngeal (and efferent vagal) spectra, and a peak less than 40 Hz in the phrenic spectra. 2. A 60- to 110-Hz peak was present in coherence spectra between the left and right phrenic neurograms, the left and right recurrent laryngeal (and efferent vagal) neurograms, and all combinations of phrenic-laryngeal (and phrenic-efferent vagal) pairs. It is concluded that the nearly-periodic oscillations represented by these peaks arise from a single source that projects functionally in parallel to many respiratory motor outputs. This source may be part of, or interact with, respiratory central pattern generation. 3. The 40- to 60-Hz oscillations in left and right recurrent laryngeal (and efferent vagal) neurograms were uncorrelated or occasionally were very weakly correlated. Thus it is unlikely that these oscillations arise from a common source such as a second respiratory central pattern generator. 4. The oscillations less than 40 Hz were weakly correlated between left and right phrenic neurograms. This correlation may be due substantially to spinal crossed-phrenic pathways. 5. It is proposed that both the 40- to 60-Hz oscillations in recurrent laryngeal neurograms and the oscillations below 40 Hz in phrenic neurograms originate in neural circuits associated with individual left or right recurrent laryngeal or phrenic motor outputs. 6. Our results do not support the interpretation that multiple peaks in phrenic and recurrent laryngeal power spectra are due to two respiratory central pattern generators whose outputs have parallel pathways to respiratory motoneurons.