Effect of electrical stimulation of the pharyngeal wall on respiratory action.

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Abstract
The central nuclear control of respiration is commonly portrayed as a series of inspiratory and expiratory elements paired in ascending series within the medulla and midbrain. The findings of this study indicate functionally separable systems of reflexes elicitable from the upper and the lower pharynx which are accessory to the primary control of tidal respiration. Stimulation applied to the dorsal wall of the upper pharynx elicits brief pulses in patterns of activation and inhibition during tidal expiration which, with sufficient stimulation intensity, accumulate into periodic sniffing. Stimulation of the dorsal wall of the lower pharnyx elicits general arousal and sustained arytenoid and vocal cord adduction, as well as diminishing activations and inhibition which intergrade in pattern with those pulses elicited from the upper pharynx, but resemble more the expiration synergy. These accessory respiratory reflexes are found to interact with the major phases of respiration and at times to displace them.

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