Abstract
A network model for the control of inspiratory cutoff by the pneumotaxic center (PC) in cats, based on a previously described anatomical model, is proposed. It is postulated that in vagotomized cats early expiratory cells in the PC produce the inspiratory cutoff. The firing patterns of neurons derived from the model were similar to those observed in the PC. Systematic changes in any one of several parameters in the model resulted in a marked change in inspiratory amplitude with no significant change in inspiratory duration; this response is similar to that already observed in vagotomized cats during changes in ventilatory drive. The basic conformation of the model was tested experimentally in the isolated respiratory center preparation of the cat. Discharges of 48 cells in the PC were recorded and the firing patterns analyzed to determine the change in frequency and temporal pattern of activity associated with spontaneous changes in the amplitude and/or duration of inspiration. 47 of the 48 cells exhibited changes in firing pattern that were consistent with the model.
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Feldman, J.L. A network model for control of inspiratory cutoff by the pneumotaxic center with supportive experimental data in cats. Biol. Cybernetics 21, 131–138 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00337420
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00337420