Brainstem Respiratory Networks and Cough

Abstract

The focus of this review is work that supports a model of the medullary neuronal network that is involved in producing the cough motor pattern of inspiratory and expiratory pump muscles. Evidence is presented that supports the following hypotheses: (1) Bulbospinal drive to respiratory motoneurons during cough arises, at least in part, from the same medullary neurons involved in providing drive during eupnoea. (2) Medullary Bötzinger/rostral ventral respiratory group neurons implicated in generating and shaping the eupnoeic pattern of breathing are also involved in producing the central cough motor pattern. The results were not consistent with a “cough centre” separate from the BÖT/VRG. Observed neurons (in cats) included most of all previously identified respiratory modulated “types”. The results showed that there were alterations in discharge patterns of all respiratory neurons during fictive cough. Many “types” responded as predicted by cough model network simulations. Based on neuron behaviours in our studies and inferred synaptic actions among BÖT/VRG neurons, we propose a preliminary model for cough generation by the BÖT/rVRG network.