Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, and Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 2013;119:191-219. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-396971-2.00008-7.
Breathing is perhaps the physiological function that is most vital to human survival. Without breathing and adequate oxygenation of tissues, life ceases. As would be expected for such a vital function, breathing occurs automatically, without the requirement of conscious input. Breathing is subject to regulation by a variety of factors including circadian rhythms and vigilance state. Given the need for breathing to occur continuously with little tolerance for interruption, it is not surprising that breathing is subject to both circadian phase-dependent and vigilance-state-dependent regulation. Similarly, the information regarding respiratory state, including blood-gas concentrations, can affect circadian timing and sleep-wake state. The exact nature of the interactions between breathing, circadian phase, and vigilance state can vary depending upon the species studied and the methodologies employed. These interactions between breathing, circadian phase, and vigilance state may have important implications for a variety of human diseases, including sleep apnea, asthma, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, and sudden infant death syndrome.
呼吸可能是对人类生存最重要的生理功能。没有呼吸和组织的充分氧合，生命就会停止。对于这样一个至关重要的功能，呼吸是自动发生的，不需要有意识的输入。呼吸受到多种因素的调节，包括昼夜节律和警觉状态。鉴于需要连续不断地进行呼吸，而且几乎不能中断，因此呼吸受到昼夜节律相关和警觉状态相关的调节也就不足为奇了。同样，关于呼吸状态的信息，包括血气浓度，也会影响昼夜节律和睡眠-觉醒状态。呼吸、昼夜节律和警觉状态之间的相互作用的确切性质可能因所研究的物种和所采用的方法而异。这些呼吸、昼夜节律和警觉状态之间的相互作用可能对多种人类疾病有重要影响，包括睡眠呼吸暂停、哮喘、癫痫猝死和婴儿猝死综合征。
