The Pattern of Breathing Following a 10-Breath Voluntary Hyperventilation During Hyperoxic Rebreathing

Abstract

The pattern of breathing following a 10-breath voluntary hyperventilation period during hyperoxic rebreathing was compared to that without hyperventilation in 6 subjects (3 male and 3 female). The aim was to measure the posthyperventilation short-term potentiation of ventilation without changes in respiratory chemoreflex drives induced by the voluntary hyperventilation. Hyperoxia was used to reduce the peripheral chemoreflex drive, and rebreathing to prevent the decrease in arterial carbon dioxide tension normally produced by hyperventilation. There were significant differences between the male and female responses. However, in all subjects, ventilation and heart rate were increased during hyperventilation but end-tidal partial pressures of carbon dioxide and oxygen were unchanged. Following hyperventilation, ventilation immediately returned to the values observed when hyperventilation was omitted. Hyperventilation did not induce a short-term potentiation of ventilation under these conditions: changes in chemoreflex stimuli brought about by cardiovascular changes induced by hyperventilation may play a role in the short-term potentiation observed under other circumstances. Key words: rebreathing, hyperventilation, short-term potentiation