Respiratory and neurovascular adaptation to physiological stress

心脏、循环系统、肺和胸壁都以高度协调的方式共同作用。单独研究每个系统可以提供有价值的信息，但研究这些系统如何共同作用可以更全面地了解基本的人体生理学。我的研究项目的长期目标是了解呼吸系统和心血管系统如何相互作用，应对和适应生理压力，以及生物性别如何影响这些关系。在探索心肺相互作用时，很少考虑生理性别的重要性，现在已经确定了重要的差异。建议的工作分为三个部分。间歇性缺氧，或反复发作的低氧，对呼吸和心血管系统的控制有独特的影响。在第一部分中，将评估每天暴露于低氧环境两周后人类心肺调节的不同组成部分。这对我们理解血液中的低氧水平如何影响多种生物系统很重要。运动时高强度的呼吸肌运动的一个重要后果是，它会影响到其他肌肉的血液流动。在第二部分中，我将确定血液流向工作肌肉的控制机制。我们对运动过程中呼吸机制的了解主要是基于对男性受试者数据的研究。直到最近，我们才开始明白，男性和女性的呼吸系统和对运动的反应有着根本的不同。在第三部分，我将探讨呼吸结构和功能的性别差异，并试图了解这是如何影响运动生理学的。在提议的工作中使用的模型是我以前资助的NSERC研究项目的延伸。受训者将通过接受技术培训和智力技能发展直接受益于他们所要求的资金。他们将产生新的知识，并在著名的科学期刊上发表他们的发现。

The heart, circulation, lungs, and chest wall all act together in a highly coordinated fashion. Studying each system in isolation can provide valuable information but examining how these systems act together provides a more comprehensive understanding of basic human physiology. The long-term goal of my research program is to understand how the respiratory and cardiovascular systems interact, respond and adapt to physiological stress and how biological sex affects these relationships. The importance of biological sex has been rarely considered when exploring cardiorespiratory interactions and important differences have now been identified. The proposed work is divided into three parts. Intermittent hypoxia, or repeated episodes of low oxygen, has unique effects on the control of breathing and the cardiovascular system. In Part I, the different components of cardiorespiratory regulation will be assessed in humans following exposure to two weeks of daily exposure to low oxygen. This is important to our understanding of how low levels of oxygen in the blood affect multiple biological systems. An important consequence of high levels of respiratory muscle work during exercise is that it affects blood flow to other muscles. In Part II, I will determine the controlling mechanisms by which blood flow is distributed to working muscles. Our knowledge of the mechanics of respiration during exercise is based on studies that have primarily used data from male subjects. Only recently have we begun to understand that the respiratory system and responses to exercise are fundamentally different between males and females. In Part III, I will explore sex-based differences in respiratory structure and function and seek to understand how this influences the physiology of exercise. The models used in the proposed work are an extension of my previously funded NSERC program of research. Trainees will benefit directly from them requested funds by receiving technical training and intellectual skill development. They will generate new knowledge and publish their findings in reputable scientific journals.