Multimodal Breathing Control: Pontomedullary Mechanisms and Current Perspectives.

Abstract

Breathing is a vital, continuous behavior that maintains physiological homeostasis, yet it is also remarkably flexible-modulated by volitional, emotional, and behavioral states. This review highlights recent advances in understanding how distributed neural circuits, particularly in the ventrolateral medulla and dorsolateral pons, integrate both homeostatic and non-homeostatic influences on respiratory control. We examine how higher-order brain regions interact with brainstem rhythm generators such as the preBötzinger complex, emphasizing a dynamic, state-dependent framework for respiratory regulation. Once considered a reflexive brainstem function, breathing is now recognized as the emergent output of interconnected networks that flexibly adapt rhythm and pattern based on internal state, behavior, and environmental context. Grasping this complexity is critical for understanding both the normal versatility and pathological vulnerability of respiratory control.