Coupling of ventilation to pulmonary gas exchange during nonsteady-state work in men

During steady-state exercise, ventilation increases in proportion to CO2 output (VCO2), regulating arterial PCO2. To characterize the dynamics of ventilatory coupling to VCO2 and O2 uptake (VO2) in the nonsteady-state phase, seven normal subjects performed constant-load cycle ergometry to a series of subanaerobic threshold work rates. Each bout consisted of eight 6-min periods of alternating loaded and unloaded cycling. Ventilation and gas exchange variables were computed breath by breath, with the time-averaged response dynamics being established off-line. Ventilation increased as a linear function of VCO2 in all cases, the relationship being identical in the steady- and the nonsteady-state phases. Ventilation, however, bore a curvilinear relation to VO2, the kinetics of the latter being more rapid. Owing to the kinetic disparity between expired minute ventilation (VE) and VO2, there was an overshoot in the direction of change in VE/VO2 and end-tidal PO2 during the work-rate transition. In contrast, there was no overshoot in the direction of change in VE/VCO2 and end-tidal PCO2 throughout the nonsteady-state period. These data suggest that the exercise hyperpnea is coupled to metabolism in men via a signal proportional to VCO2 in both the nonsteady and steady states of moderate exercise.