Identifying neural circuits that integrate breathing with behavior and emotion

Infographic on identifying neural circuits that integrate breathing with behavior and emotion Breathing is controlled automatically to preserve homeostasis but must also be conditionally regulated to adjust breathing to state-dependent changes in behavior and emotion. Using optogenetic manipulation of specific subsets of neurons at key brain sites in mice, the Baertsch Lab is working to identify the neural circuits and mechanisms that mediate this state-dependent control and allow breathing to conditionally dissociate from its underlying automatic regulation. These studies may have important implications for our understanding breathing abnormalities associated with emotional disorders such as hyperventilation syndrome and panic disorders.

Other Projects

Decoding the origins of breathing

Breathing is driven by the coordinated activity of neurons in the brainstem, which continues to produce respiratory rhythms even when separated from the rest of the brain. We investigate the specific cell types and their properties and interactions that allow this network to produce rhythm.

How endogenous and exogenous opioids affect mechanisms of respiratory control

We are working to understand how the activation of opioid receptors affects breathing, to inspire new therapeutic strategies to prevent or reverse OIRD without eliminating the beneficial pain-killing effects of these drugs.