Respiratory Network Organization and Cellular Mechanisms

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The goal of this project is to test hypotheses regarding vertebrate oscillatory motor networks with respect to their organization and cellular mechanisms underlying rhythmogenesis using turtle brainstems in vitro. The vertebrate respiratory control system was chosen because this system is necessary for life and it produces spontaneous quantifiable rhythmic motor output under in vitro conditions. This project examines the adult turtle respiratory control system because reptiles represent an important phylogenetic intermediate between amphibians and mammals, and turtles have unique physiological features that are advantageous for in vitro studies. Hypotheses to be tested include: (1) the adult turtle respiratory rhythm generator is composed of separate synaptically-coupled oscillatory networks, (2) expiratory neurons, such as novel pre-expiratory cells, initiate breathing cycles, (3) endogenous pacemaker properties in respiratory neurons are necessary for rhythm generation. To address these hypotheses, a multidisciplinary approach will be used whereby well-established multichannel recording techniques are applied for the first time to study respiratory neural control in vitro. The results of this proposal will help place the organizational principles and underlying mechanisms for respiratory rhythmogenesis within a broader phylogenetic and evolutionary context, thereby focusing attention on conserved mechanisms that are critical for respiratory rhythmogenesis and other rhythmic motor networks in vertebrates. The project will support a postdoctoral fellow and graduate student. Undergraduate students from underrepresented minorities will be recruited each summer from the University of Puerto Rico.