Regulatory mechanisms of the phasic respiratory activity in cricothyroid muscle.

Phasic respiratory activity of the cricothyroid muscle has been investigated with electromyography in 15 normal subjects, and in 19 pathological cases with well defined neurological troubles. It appears that phasic respiratory activity in the cricothyroid muscle, probably centrally generated, is under control of a complex and intricate mechanisms, in which the nervus laryngeus superior, the nervus laryngeus inferior, the vagus nerve and cross connections all together intervene. Furthermore, a peripheral modulation related somehow to the resistance of the airways is present. Despite differences between animal species, it seems that qualitatively the same contributing elements are present in animals and humans.