Intrapulmonary and systemic CO2-chemoreceptor interaction in the control of avian respiration

Experiments on anesthetized chickens were conducted to study interactions between afferent activity from the intrapulmonary and systemic CO2-sensitive chemoreceptors in the generation of respiratory amplitude (RA) and respiratory frequency (f). The thoracoabdominal cavity was opened, air sacs ruptured and each lung independently and unidirectionally ventilated. Intrapulmonary chemoreceptor activity was altered by changing the PCO2 of the ventilatory gas (PICO2) to the vascularly isolated right lung (VIL); systemic chemoreceptor activity was altered by changing the PICO2 to the denervated left gas exchange lung (GEL). Respiratory amplitude and frequency responses to changes in intrapulmonary PCO2 were determined at four levels of systemic arterial PCO2 (PaCO2). The results indicate that elevating PaCO2 shifts the pulmonary CO2-response curves for both RA and f to the left and increases the sensitivity of the RA-CO2 response curve but decreases the sensitivity of the f-CO2 response curve. We conclude that (1) interaction occurs between intrapulmonary and systemic afferent activity in the generation of RA and f, (2) the nature of the interaction is synergism with respect to RA and interference with respect to f, and (3) the interaction is greater during hypocapnia than hypercapnia.