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Neural substrates of cough control during coughing
Takafumi Sugi1,2, Tomoo Inubushi3, Tomohisa Ohno4
1Department of Biofunctional Imaging, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1, Handayama, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, 431-3192, Japan.
Scientific Reports
|January 8, 2024
Summary
Brain activity during voluntary coughing primarily involves the cerebellum and pons. In contrast, induced or suppressed coughs engage higher sensory brain regions for top-down control, revealing distinct neural pathways for cough reflexes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Cough is a vital protective reflex for airway clearance.
- Previous studies using fMRI had limitations in capturing real-time brain activity during cough.
Purpose of the Study:
- To accurately measure whole-brain activity during various coughing tasks.
- To differentiate neural control mechanisms between voluntary and stimulus-induced coughs.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a restraint-free positron emission tomography (PET) system with [15O]H2O for whole-brain scanning.
- Recorded brain activity during resting, voluntary cough (VC), induced cough (IC) via tartaric acid (CiTA), and suppressed cough (SC).
- Employed motion correction techniques for precise data acquisition.
Main Results:
- Voluntary cough (VC) predominantly activated the cerebellum and pons.
- CiTA-related tasks (IC and SC) significantly activated higher sensory cortical regions.
- Distinct brain regions were implicated in spontaneous versus controlled cough responses.
Conclusions:
- Simple, voluntary coughs are mainly controlled by infratentorial brain areas.
- Modulating cough reflexes requires higher sensory brain regions for top-down regulation.
- This study provides new insights into the neural basis of cough control.
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