Control of Human Breathing in Extreme Environments

极端环境下人类呼吸的控制

• 批准号: 217478-2013
• 负责人: White, Matthew
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: Simon Fraser University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=570171
• 关键词: Control; Human; Breathing; Extreme; Environments

Unlike many small mammals that pant to cool their bodies, humans employ surface sweating as the main effector for heat loss. It may be surprising but human breathing also responds changes in body temperatures. Both a thermal panting response is evident in the heat and a pronounced gasp response is a characteristic response in the cold. The primary objective of my research program is to establish the mechanisms of control of human breathing after changes in body temperature. My research hypothesis is that high or low body temperatures provide an important stimulus to human breathing. Recent progress in my research program is in three areas. In the first area, we examined how humans with elevated body temperatures responded to the chemical inputs from the two respiratory gases, carbon dioxide and oxygen. We established that increased body temperature works both independently and in concert with these two respiratory gases to control human breathing. In the second area we conceived, built and validated a novel breath-by-breath device for precise control the two respiratory gases. In the third area, similar that evident for other human thermoregulatory heat loss responses, we revealed an adaptation of the human thermal panting response after repeated heat stresses. In the proposed research program, we will employ our novel control system for the respiratory gases in 2 areas of study. In the first area, we will determine the mechanism of control of the human gasp response during acute as well as repeated decreases of body temperatures. In the second area, we will ascertain how the human thermal panting response contributes the control of blood pressure, and, in elderly Canadians, we will assess if this human thermal panting adapts to repeated heat stresses. The benefits to all Canadians from this research is to improve our understanding of the human ability to live and proposer in extreme climates, such as those more and more evident in our country with global warming.

与许多通过喘气来冷却身体的小型哺乳动物不同，人类利用体表出汗作为热量散失的主要效应器。这可能令人惊讶，但人类的呼吸也会对体温的变化做出反应。热喘气反应在炎热时很明显，而明显的喘气反应是寒冷时的特征反应。我的研究计划的主要目标是建立体温变化后人类呼吸的控制机制。我的研究假设是，高或低体温对人类呼吸提供重要刺激。 我的研究计划的最新进展主要体现在三个领域。在第一个领域，我们研究了体温升高的人类对二氧化碳和氧气这两种呼吸气体的化学输入的反应。我们确定，体温升高既可以独立发挥作用，又可以与这两种呼吸气体协同作用来控制人类呼吸。在第二个领域，我们构思、构建并验证了一种新型的逐次呼吸设备，用于精确控制两种呼吸气体。在第三个领域，与其他人类体温调节热损失反应类似，我们揭示了重复热应激后人类热喘气反应的适应。 在拟议的研究计划中，我们将在两个研究领域采用我们新颖的呼吸气体控制系统。 在第一个领域，我们将确定体温急剧和反复下降期间人体喘气反应的控制机制。在第二个领域，我们将确定人体热气喘反应如何有助于控制血压，并且在加拿大老年人中，我们将评估这种人体热气喘是否适应反复的热应激。 这项研究对所有加拿大人的好处是提高我们对人类在极端气候下生存和提议的能力的了解，例如在我们国家随着全球变暖而变得越来越明显的情况。