Ventilatory dynamics during transient arousal from NREM sleep: implications for respiratory control stability

1996 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 1475-1484 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Khoo ◽  
S. S. Koh ◽  
J. J. Shin ◽  
P. R. Westbrook ◽  
R. B. Berry

The polysomnographic and ventilatory patterns of nine normal adults were measured during non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) stage 2 sleep before and after repeated administrations of a tone (40-72 dB) lasting 5 s. The ventilatory response to arousal (VRA) was determined in data sections showing electrocortical arousal following the start of the tone. Mean inspiratory flow and tidal volume increased significantly above control levels in the first seven breaths after the start of arousal, with peak increases (64.2% > control) occurring on the second breath. Breath-to-breath occlusion pressure 100 ms after the start of inspiration showed significant increases only on the second and third postarousal breaths, whereas upper airway resistance declined immediately and remained below control for > or = 7 consecutive breaths. These results suggest that the first breath and latter portion of the VRA are determined more by upper airway dynamics than by changes in the neural drive to breathe. Computer model simulations comparing different VRA time courses show that sustained periodic apnea is more likely to occur when the fall in the postarousal increase in ventilation is more abrupt.

2000 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 1275-1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giora Pillar ◽  
Atul Malhotra ◽  
Robert B. Fogel ◽  
Josee Beauregard ◽  
David I. Slamowitz ◽  
...  

Although pharyngeal muscles respond robustly to increasing Pco 2 during wakefulness, the effect of hypercapnia on upper airway muscle activation during sleep has not been carefully assessed. This may be important, because it has been hypothesized that CO2-driven muscle activation may importantly stabilize the upper airway during stages 3 and 4 sleep. To test this hypothesis, we measured ventilation, airway resistance, genioglossus (GG) and tensor palatini (TP) electromyogram (EMG), plus end-tidal Pco 2(Pet CO2 ) in 18 subjects during wakefulness, stage 2, and slow-wave sleep (SWS). Responses of ventilation and muscle EMG to administered CO2(Pet CO2 = 6 Torr above the eupneic level) were also assessed during SWS ( n = 9) or stage 2 sleep ( n = 7). Pet CO2 increased spontaneously by 0.8 ± 0.1 Torr from stage 2 to SWS (from 43.3 ± 0.6 to 44.1 ± 0.5 Torr, P < 0.05), with no significant change in GG or TP EMG. Despite a significant increase in minute ventilation with induced hypercapnia (from 8.3 ± 0.1 to 11.9 ± 0.3 l/min in stage 2 and 8.6 ± 0.4 to 12.7 ± 0.4 l/min in SWS, P < 0.05 for both), there was no significant change in the GG or TP EMG. These data indicate that supraphysiological levels of Pet CO2 (50.4 ± 1.6 Torr in stage 2, and 50.4 ± 0.9 Torr in SWS) are not a major independent stimulus to pharyngeal dilator muscle activation during either SWS or stage 2 sleep. Thus hypercapnia-induced pharyngeal dilator muscle activation alone is unlikely to explain the paucity of sleep-disordered breathing events during SWS.


2004 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole L. Marcus ◽  
Lucila B. Fernandes Do Prado ◽  
Janita Lutz ◽  
Eliot S. Katz ◽  
Cheryl A. Black ◽  
...  

Normal children have a less collapsible upper airway in response to subatmospheric pressure administration (PNEG) during sleep than normal adults do, and this upper airway response appears to be modulated by the central ventilatory drive. Children have a greater ventilatory drive than adults. We, therefore, hypothesized that children have increased neuromotor activation of their pharyngeal airway during sleep compared with adults. As infants have few obstructive apneas during sleep, we hypothesized that infants would have an upper airway that was resistant to collapse. We, therefore, compared the upper airway pressure-flow (V̇) relationship during sleep between normal infants, prepubertal children, and adults. We evaluated the upper airway response to 1) intermittent, acute PNEG (infants, children, and adults), and 2) hypercapnia (children and adults). We found that adults had a more collapsible upper airway during sleep than either infants or children. The children exhibited a vigorous response to both PNEG and hypercapnia during sleep ( P < 0.01), whereas adults had no significant change. Infants had an airway that was resistant to collapse and showed a very rapid response to PNEG. We conclude that the upper airway is resistant to collapse during sleep in infants and children. Normal children have preservation of upper airway responses to PNEG and hypercapnia during sleep, whereas responses are diminished in adults. Infants appear to have a different pattern of upper airway activation than older children. We speculate that the pharyngeal airway responses present in normal children are a compensatory response for a relatively narrow upper airway.


1993 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 626-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Wheatley ◽  
D. J. Tangel ◽  
W. S. Mezzanotte ◽  
D. P. White

The influence of sleep on the upper airway musculature varies considerably, with some muscles maintaining their activity at waking levels and others falling substantially. The influence of sleep on the alae nasi (AN), a dilator muscle of the nasal airway, has been minimally studied to date. Thus we determined the effect of non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep on the AN electromyogram and its relationship to nasal resistance (Rn) in nine normal supine males. Phasic inspiratory AN activity decreased from 20 +/- 6 arbitrary units during wakefulness to 5 +/- 1 arbitrary units (P < 0.001) at the onset of stage 2 NREM sleep and remained unchanged for two subsequent hours of NREM sleep. However, the Rn at the onset of NREM sleep remained similar to awake values (5.7 +/- 0.9 cmH2O.l-1 x s) and increased only after 1 h of NREM sleep (8.6 +/- 1.7 cmH2O.l-1 x s, P < 0.05), thus demonstrating little relationship to AN activity. We conclude that Rn increases slightly after 1 h of sleep, whereas AN activity decreases at stage 2 sleep onset. Thus AN activity has little influence on Rn during sleep.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 1746-1754 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. T. Kuna ◽  
J. S. Smickley ◽  
G. Insalaco

Six normal adults were studied 1) to compare respiratory-related posterior cricoarytenoid (PCA) muscle activity during wakefulness and sleep and 2) to determine the effect of upper airway occlusions during non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep on PCA activity. A new electromyographic technique was developed to implant hooked-wire electrodes into the PCA by using a nasopharyngoscope. A previously described technique was used to induce upper airway occlusions during NREM sleep (Kuna and Smickley, J. Appl. Physiol. 64: 347-353, 1988). The PCA exhibited phasic inspiratory activity during quiet breathing in wakefulness and sleep in all subjects. Discounting changes in tonic activity, peak amplitude of PCA inspiratory activity during stage 3-4 NREM sleep decreased to 77% of its value in wakefulness. Tonic activity throughout the respiratory cycle was present in all subjects during wakefulness but was absent during state 3-4 NREM sleep. In this sleep stage, PCA phasic activity abruptly terminated near the end of inspiration. During nasal airway occlusions in NREM sleep, PCA phasic activity did not increase significantly during the first or second occluded effort. The results, in combination with recent findings for vocal cord adductors in awake and sleeping adults, suggest that vocal cord position during quiet breathing in wakefulness is actively controlled by simultaneously acting antagonistic intrinsic laryngeal muscles. In contrast, the return of the vocal cords toward the midline during expiration in stage 3-4 NREM sleep appears to be a passive phenomenon.


1992 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 642-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Basner ◽  
J. Ringler ◽  
E. Garpestad ◽  
R. M. Schwartzstein ◽  
D. Sparrow ◽  
...  

Six healthy subjects (5 males and 1 female, 26–40 yr old) were studied during non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep to assess the role of upper airway (UA) afferents in the arousal response to induced airway occlusion. Subjects wore an airtight face mask attached to a low-resistance one-way valve. A valve in the inspiratory circuit allowed instantaneous inspiratory airway occlusion and release; the expiratory circuit remained unoccluded at all times. Each subject was studied during two nights. On one night, occlusions were created during stable stage 2 NREM sleep before and after application of 4% lidocaine to the oral and nasal mucosa. On the other night, the protocol was duplicated with saline (“sham anesthesia”) rather than lidocaine. The order of nights was randomized. Occlusions were sustained until electroencephalographic arousal. Three to 12 occlusions were performed in each subject for each of the four parts of the protocol (pre- and post-lidocaine, pre- and post-saline). The auditory threshold for arousal (1,500-Hz tone beginning at 30 dB) was also tested before and after UA lidocaine. For the group, arousal time after UA anesthesia was prolonged compared with preanesthesia arousal time (P less than 0.001); arousal time after sham anesthesia did not significantly increase from before sham anesthesia (P = 0.9). The increase in arousal time with UA anesthesia was greater than the increase with sham anesthesia (P less than 0.001). The auditory arousal threshold did not increase after UA anesthesia. Inspiratory mask pressure, arterial O2 saturation of hemoglobin, and end-tidal PCO2 during occlusions were similar before and after UA anesthesia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A1-A1
Author(s):  
T Altree ◽  
A Aishah ◽  
K Loffler ◽  
R Grunstein ◽  
D Eckert

Abstract Introduction Noradrenergic and muscarinic processes are crucial for pharyngeal muscle control during sleep. Selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as reboxetine combined with an antimuscarinic reduce obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity. The effects of reboxetine alone on OSA severity are unknown. Methods Double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-way crossover trial in 16 people with OSA. Each participant completed three overnight polysomnograms (~1-week washout). Single doses of reboxetine 4mg, placebo, or reboxetine+oxybutynin 5mg were administered before sleep (randomized order). The primary outcome was apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Secondary outcomes included other polysomnography parameters, next day sleepiness and alertness. Endotyping analysis was performed to determine the medications’ effects on OSA pathophysiological mechanisms. Results Reboxetine reduced the AHI by 5.4 [95% CI -10.4 to -0.3] events/h, P=0.03 (men: -24±27%; women: -0.7±32%). The addition of oxybutynin did not further reduce AHI. Reboxetine alone and reboxetine+oxybutynin reduced overnight hypoxemia versus placebo (e.g. 4% oxygen desaturation index 10.4±12.8 vs. 10.6±12.8 vs. 15.7±14.7 events/h, P=0.02). Mechanistically, reboxetine and reboxetine+oxybutynin improved pharyngeal collapsibility and respiratory control stability. Men had higher baseline loop gain. Larger reductions in AHI with reboxetine occurred in those with high loop gain. Neither drug intervention changed next day sleepiness or alertness. Discussion A single 4mg dose of reboxetine modestly reduces OSA severity without further improvement with the addition of an antimuscarinic. Reboxetine increases breathing stability via improvements in pharyngeal collapsibility and respiratory control. These findings provide new insight into the role of SNRIs on upper airway stability during sleep and have important implications for pharmacotherapy development for OSA.


2008 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 360-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihai Mihaescu ◽  
Shanmugam Murugappan ◽  
Ephraim Gutmark ◽  
Lane F. Donnelly ◽  
Maninder Kalra

1992 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 2311-2316 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Miki ◽  
W. Hida ◽  
Y. Kikuchi ◽  
T. Chonan ◽  
M. Satoh ◽  
...  

We examined the effect of electrical stimulation of the hypoglossal nerve and pharyngeal lubrication with artificial surfactant (Surfactant T-A) on the opening of obstructed upper airway in nine anesthetized supine dogs. The upper airway was isolated from the lower airway by transecting the cervical trachea. Upper airway obstruction was induced by applying constant negative pressures (5, 10, 20, and 30 cmH2O) on the rostral cut end of the trachea. Peripheral cut ends of the hypoglossal nerves were electrically stimulated by square-wave pulses at various frequencies from 10 to 30 Hz (0.2-ms duration, 5–7 V), and the critical stimulating frequency necessary for opening the obstructed upper airway was measured at each driving pressure before and after pharyngeal lubrication with artificial surfactant. The critical stimulation frequency for upper airway opening significantly increased as upper airway pressure became more negative and significantly decreased with lubrication of the upper airway. These findings suggest that greater muscle tone of the genioglossus is needed to open the occluded upper airway with larger negative intraluminal pressure and that lubrication of the pharyngeal mucosa with artificial surfactant facilitates reopening of the upper airway.


2017 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 1532-1544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Langer ◽  
Suzanne E. Neumueller ◽  
Emma Crumley ◽  
Nicholas J. Burgraff ◽  
Sawan Talwar ◽  
...  

Neuromodulator interdependence posits that changes in one or more neuromodulators are compensated by changes in other modulators to maintain stability in the respiratory control network. Herein, we studied compensatory neuromodulation in the hypoglossal motor nucleus (HMN) after chronic implantation of microtubules unilaterally ( n = 5) or bilaterally ( n = 5) into the HMN. After recovery, receptor agonists or antagonists in mock cerebrospinal fluid (mCSF) were dialyzed during the awake and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep states. During day studies, dialysis of the µ-opioid inhibitory receptor agonist [d-Ala2, N-MePhe4, Gly-ol]enkephalin (DAMGO; 100 µM) decreased pulmonary ventilation (V̇i), breathing frequency ( f), and genioglossus (GG) muscle activity but did not alter neuromodulators measured in the effluent mCSF. However, neither unilateral dialysis of a broad spectrum muscarinic receptor antagonist (atropine; 50 mM) nor unilateral or bilateral dialysis of a mixture of excitatory receptor antagonists altered V̇i or GG activity, but all of these did increase HMN serotonin (5-HT) levels. Finally, during night studies, DAMGO and excitatory receptor antagonist decreased ventilatory variables during NREM sleep but not during wakefulness. These findings contrast with previous dialysis studies in the ventral respiratory column (VRC) where unilateral DAMGO or atropine dialysis had no effects on breathing and bilateral DAMGO or unilateral atropine increased V̇i and f and decreased GABA or increased 5-HT, respectively. Thus we conclude that the mechanisms of compensatory neuromodulation are less robust in the HMN than in the VRC under physiological conditions in adult goats, possibly because of site differences in the underlying mechanisms governing neuromodulator release and consequently neuronal activity, and/or responsiveness of receptors to compensatory neuromodulators. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Activation of inhibitory µ-opioid receptors in the hypoglossal motor nucleus decreased ventilation under physiological conditions and did not affect neurochemicals in effluent dialyzed mock cerebral spinal fluid. These findings contrast with studies in the ventral respiratory column where unilateral [d-Ala2, N-MePhe4, Gly-ol]enkephalin (DAMGO) had no effects on ventilation and bilateral DAMGO or unilateral atropine increased ventilation and decreased GABA or increased serotonin, respectively. Our data support the hypothesis that mechanisms that govern local compensatory neuromodulation within the brain stem are site specific under physiological conditions.


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