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The respiratory center receives input from chemoreceptors, mechanoreceptors, the cerebral cortex, and the hypothalamus in order to regulate the rate and depth of breathing. Input is stimulated by altered levels of oxygen , carbon dioxide , and blood pH , by hormonal changes relating to stress and anxiety from the hypothalamus, and also by ...
The pH sensors on the brain stem immediately respond to this fall in pH, causing the respiratory center to increase the rate and depth of breathing. The consequence is that the partial pressure of CO 2 (P CO 2 ) does not change from rest going into exercise.
The medulla contains the cardiovascular center, the respiratory center, vomiting and vasomotor centers, responsible for the autonomic functions of breathing, heart rate and blood pressure as well as the sleep–wake cycle. [2] "Medulla" is from Latin, ‘pith or marrow’. And "oblongata" is from Latin, ‘lengthened or longish or elongated'.
Within the pons is the pneumotaxic center consisting of the subparabrachial and the medial parabrachial nuclei. This center regulates the change from inhalation to exhalation. [2] The pons is implicated in sleep paralysis, and may also play a role in generating dreams. [8]
Autonomic functions include control of respiration, cardiac regulation (the cardiac control center), vasomotor activity (the vasomotor center), and certain reflex actions such as coughing, sneezing, swallowing and vomiting. Those are then subdivided into other areas and are also linked to autonomic subsystems and the peripheral nervous system.
The descending connections from the brain allow for more sophisticated control. [8] The brain contains several motor areas that project directly to the spinal cord. At the lowest level are motor areas in the medulla and pons, which control stereotyped movements such as walking, breathing, or swallowing.
An increase in carbon dioxide causes tension of the arteries, often resulting from increased CO 2 output (hypercapnia), indirectly causes the blood to become more acidic; the cerebrospinal fluid pH is closely comparable to plasma, as carbon dioxide easily diffuses across the blood–brain barrier.
Central neurogenic hyperventilation (CNH) is an abnormal pattern of breathing characterized by deep and rapid breaths at a rate of at least 25 breaths per minute. Increasing irregularity of this respiratory rate generally is a sign that the patient will enter into coma.