They transmit this afferent information via the superior branch of the internal laryngeal nerve, and genioglossus premotoneurons

located near the obex mediate the reflex (Chamberlin et al., 2007). This is an important reflex, as activation of the hypoglossal muscles caused by a pressure drop should counteract a pharyngeal collapse (Eckert et al., 2007b, Horner et al., 1991 and Malhotra et al., 2000). Under physiological conditions this mechano-sensory pathway, as well as central nervous system components that are not involved in the reflex, contribute to the phasic genioglossus contraction during inspiration (Chamberlin et al., 2007, Fogel et al., 2001, Horner, 2000, Susarla et al., 2010 and van Lunteren, 1993). Importantly, the reflex activation of the genioglossus during these pressure drops is dramatically reduced or even suppressed during sleep, a finding that is of great significance in understanding OSA because a reduced activation could promote Dabrafenib nmr a pharyngeal collapse (Wheatley et al., 1993). Hypoxia and hypercapnia initiated chemoreflexes VX-809 purchase are known to contribute to the regulation of ventilation (Fig. 1), and a high gain in any of these chemosensory loops could contribute to breathing instabilities (White, 2005). The following lines of evidence suggest that the arterial chemoreflex is augmented in

OSA subjects: (a) brief hyperoxic exposure, which inhibits chemoreceptor activity, reduces blood pressure in OSA patients but not in control subjects (Narkiewicz et al., 1998), (b) the hypoxic ventilatory response, a hallmark response of the chemoreflex, is augmented in OSA subjects compared to controls (Hedner et al., 1992), and (c) activation of muscle sympathetic nerve activity by apneas is more pronounced in OSA subjects compared to controls (Smith et al., 1996). Development of altered chemosensory reflexes in OSA is further supported by studies using intermittent hypoxia (IH), the hallmark manifestation of recurrent apnea. Rodents exposed to chronic IH showed: (a) enhanced carotid body sensitivity to hypoxia, and (b) a progressive increase Gefitinib supplier in baseline carotid body sensory activity,

a phenomenon termed sensory long-term facilitation (sLTF) (Pawar et al., 2008, Peng et al., 2003, Peng et al., 2006, Peng et al., 2009, Peng and Prabhakar, 2004 and Rey et al., 2004). The subnuclei of the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS, Fig. 1), especially the commissural part of the NTS (cNTS), receive inputs from the carotid body (Chitravanshi and Sapru, 1995 and Zhang and Mifflin, 1993). Neuronal activity in cNTS is regulated by various neurotransmitters, including glutamate, an excitatory amino acid transmitter, and dopamine, an inhibitory biogenic amine. Chronic IH up regulates GluR2/3 glutamate receptor subunit expression in cNTS (Costa-Silva et al., 2012) and down regulates tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression, the rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine (DA) synthesis (Gozal et al., 2005 and Kline et al., 2002).