Upper airway dilating forces during wakefulness and sleep in dogs

We measured the pressure within an isolated segment of the upper airway in three dogs during wakefulness (W), slow-wave sleep (SWS) and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. Measurements were taken from a segment of the upper airway between the nares and midtrachea while the dog breathed through a tracheostoma. These pressure changes represented the sum of respiratory-related forces generated by all muscles of the upper airway. The mean base-line level of upper airway pressure (Pua) was -0.5 +/- 0.03 cmH2O during W, increased by a mean of 2.1 +/- 0.2 cmH2O during SWS, and was variable during REM sleep. The mean inspiratory-related phasic change in Pua was -1.2 +/- 0.1 cmH2O during wakefulness. During SWS, this phasic change in Pua decreased significantly to a mean of -0.9 +/- 0.1 cmH2O (P less than 0.05). During REM sleep, the phasic activity was extremely variable with periods in which there were no fluctuations in Pua and others with high swings in Pua. These data indicate that in dogs the sum of forces which dilate the upper airway during W decreases during SWS and REM sleep. The consistent coupling between inspiratory drive and upper airway dilatation during wakefulness persists in SWS, but is frequently uncoupled during REM sleep.