A model of the maturation of respiratory control in the newborn infant

Abstract

A model of automatic neonatal respiratory control has been constructed as an aid in the investigation of a possible maturation in respiratory control loops during the newborn period. The primary objective was to provide a framework for investigating this hypothesis without the need for external stimuli or invasive measurements. Spontaneous sighs provide a physiological disturbance to the respiratory system by transiently altering the levels of the blood gases. The dynamic ventilatory response following such a disturbance was modeled. A change from a highly damped to less damped pattern was found when model parameter values were varied to mimic maturation in the neonatal period. A perturbation model analysis demonstrated the dynamic ventilatory response is most sensitive to factors affecting the gain of the peripheral chemoreflex loop. It is concluded that the model provides valuable insight into the hypothesis that the peripheral chemoreflex matures during the neonatal period and provides a viable method for testing this in the human infant.

Effect of sighs on breathing memory and dynamics in healthy infants

“…Recently, regulatory properties of the respiratory negative-feedback loop have been analyzed using mathematical techniques derived from engineering systems control theory (24,35). The behavior of the control loop after a sigh may be reflective of the maturity and functional integrity of neurorespiratory feedback control.…”

“…Biological feedback systems such as those utilized in, e.g., respiratory control, are reflective of engineering control systems and may be modeled using similar mathematical concepts (9,35). From an engineering point of view, a control system requires an appropriate balance between system stability and sensitivity, permitting responsiveness to fluctuations while maintaining function within tightly regulated limits.…”

Mathematical model of the human respiratory system in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

“…The study of the human respiratory system is not new and many models have been presented to represent the system mathematically and used in practice to study the features of the system. Works in [8–13] are a small selection of the models and simulation studies that have been previously published on this subject. A number of mathematical models representing multiple lung compartments with various ventilation/perfusion ratios have been presented with applications in COPD (e.g.…”

Sleep Apnea: Detection and Classification of Infant Patterns

“…The control of breathing during infancy encounters dramatic changes with the maturation of neurophysiological, metabolic, and mechanical components of the respiratory system. For example, blood oxygenation suddenly increases as the infant, whose age varies from birth to 12 months, begins to exchange air in its lungs and completely meet its own metabolic demands (9). After birth, infants usually have sighs during epochs of quiet sleep, called saturation, because of this transition.…”