The brainstem respiratory network

The respiratory system works with the cardiovascular system to supply tissues with oxygen, to remove carbon dioxide, and to maintain a normal acid-base balance (i.e. blood gas homeostasis). The basic breathing rhythm is generated in the ventrolateral medulla in a column of cells that extends in the caudal direction from the caudal pole of the facial motor nucleus (VIIn) to the spino-medullary junction. The breathing networks are also vitally important in a host of other behaviors, such as swallow, cough, emesis, expiration reflex, micturition, defecation, parturition, suckling, locomotion, and vocalization. These networks control the primary muscle of inspiration, the diaphragm, as well as a host of upper airway and abdominal muscles, to accomplish these tasks without compromising blood gas homeostasis. The core respiratory networks are also modulated by many sensory inputs from the periphery as well as modulatory inputs from other brain regions, notably the dorsolateral-pontine and midline-raphé nuclei.