APSC 440 - Respiratory Neurobiology

Credits: (3)
Prerequisite(s): APSC 351 and BIOL 345
College Curriculum: COLL 400
We examine respiration and the neural circuits that generate and control it. We investigate the physical plant (organs, muscles, etc.) that produces breathing movements to ventilate the lungs, as well as the fundamental tenets of respiratory physiology. Next we move from the physical plant for breathing to its underlying neural circuitry in the brainstem, which predominantly controls the behavior. We examine brainstem respiratory microcircuits at molecular, cellular, and network levels of analysis. Additional material includes sensorimotor integration particularly associated with blood-gas homeostasis, pH regulation, and lung-mechanoreceptor feedback on respiratory control microcircuits. Finally, we examine how the breathing neural control centers interface with the emotional brain, which underlies both the calming and arousing effects of breathing.