HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free All Versions of this Article: 97/5/1830    most recent 00298.2004v1 Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (16) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Baldwin, D. N. Articles by Frey, U. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Baldwin, D. N. Articles by Frey, U.

Effect of sighs on breathing memory and dynamics in healthy infants

¹Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, University Children's Hospital, Bern 3010, Switzerland; ²Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215; and ³Clinical Sciences Division, Institute for Child Health and Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth 6008, Australia

Submitted 18 March 2004 ; accepted in final form 16 June 2004

Deep inspirations (sighs) play a significant role in altering lung mechanical and airway wall function; however, their role in respiratory control remains unclear. We examined whether sighs act via a resetting mechanism to improve control of the respiratory regulatory system. Effects of sighs on system variability, short- and long-range memory, and stability were assessed in 25 healthy full-term infants at 1 mo of age [mean 36 (range 28–57) days] during quiet sleep. Variability was examined using moving-window coefficient of variation, short-range memory using autocorrelation function, and long-range memory using detrended fluctuation analysis. Stability was examined by studying the behavior of the attractor with use of phase-space plots. Variability of tidal volume (VT) and minute ventilation (E) increased during the initial 15 breaths after a sigh. Short-range memory of VT decreased during the 50 breaths preceding a sigh, becoming uncorrelated (random) during the 10-breath presigh window. Short-range memory increased after a sigh for the entire 50 breaths compared with the randomized data set and for 20 breaths compared with the presigh window. Similar, but shorter duration, changes were noted in E. No change in long-range memory was seen after a sigh. Coefficient of variation and range of points located within a defined attractor segment increased after a sigh. Thus control of breathing in healthy infants shows long-range stability and improvement in short-range memory and variability after a sigh. These results add new evidence that the role of sighs is not purely mechanical.

nonlinear dynamics; feedback; control; systems theory

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Thamrin, G. Stern, M-P. F. Strippoli, C. E. Kuehni, B. Suki, D. R. Taylor, and U. Frey Fluctuation analysis of lung function as a predictor of long-term response to {beta}2-agonists Eur. Respir. J., March 1, 2009; 33(3): 486 - 493. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Engoren, S. E. Courtney, and R. H. Habib Effect of weight and age on respiratory complexity in premature neonates J Appl Physiol, March 1, 2009; 106(3): 766 - 773. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Thamrin and U. Frey Complexity and respiratory growth: a developing story J Appl Physiol, March 1, 2009; 106(3): 753 - 754. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Kohler, S. Kriemler, E. M. Wilhelm, H. Brunner-LaRocca, M. Zehnder, and K. E. Bloch Children at high altitude have less nocturnal periodic breathing than adults Eur. Respir. J., July 1, 2008; 32(1): 189 - 197. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L. Fisher and S. S. Margulies Modeling the effect of stretch and plasma membrane tension on Na+-K+-ATPase activity in alveolar epithelial cells Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, January 1, 2007; 292(1): L40 - L53. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]