General Control of Breathing:
Your respiratory rate changes. When active, for example, your respiratory rate goes up; when less active, or sleeping, the rate goes down. Also, even though the respiratory muscles are voluntary, you can’t consciously control them when you’re sleeping. So, how is respiratory rate altered & how is respiration controlled when you’re not consciously thinking about respiration?
The rhythmicity center of the medulla in the brain-stem:
controls automatic breathing
consists of interacting neurons that fire either during inspiration (I neurons) or expiration (E neurons)
I neurons – stimulate neurons that innervate respiratory muscles (to bring about inspiration)
E neurons – inhibit I neurons (to ‘shut down’ the I neurons & bring about expiration)