Brain neural networks that control breathing and blood pressure
- Roger Shannon, Kendall Morris and Bruce Lindsey

The group uses advanced multi-array recording technologies and computational methods to identify the organization of brain stem systems that control breathing and blood pressure. Two projects study information processing from internal sensors that monitor blood pressure and levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. A third project is a new and unique collaborative effort that brings together investigators from universities in five states. The goal is to develop a unified model of the brainstem respiratory network and to identify potential sites where abnormalities can disrupt breathing and its control. Detailed biophysical and large-scale computer simulations guide associated experiments to test hypotheses on sub-cellular, cellular, network and systems level mechanisms that transform the respiratory network during hypoxia and during sleep and waking.

Understanding the brainstem network that generates and modulates the breathing motor pattern is an important goal in physiology and medicine. Breathing is subject to numerous adaptive and reactive transformations in both normal and pathophysiological conditions. Disorders that disrupt breathing are associated with the development of pulmonary and systemic hypertension, sudden infant death, learning disabilities, Parkinson's disease and autonomic dysfunction, and other disorders and risks. Improved detection, treatment, and management require a better understanding of the brainstem network that regulates respiratory functions.