The principle of feedback control is thought to be fundamental for maintaining homeostasis in biological systems. In the respiratory system, constancy of arterial Pcoz, Poz, and pH is also maintained essentially by means of a feedback control system. For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that the respiratory system is regulated by only one controlled variable, Pa~oz. According to control theory, the basic structure of a feedback control system may be represented by two components, a controller and a controlled system (plant) as shown in Fig. 1 a. The controller of the respiratory system consists of the medullary respiratory center, central and peripheral chemoreceptors and related sensory and motor nerve systems. The controlled system is the lung gas exchanger in which numerous alveoli, conductive airways, pulmonary capillaries, and respiratory muscles in the chest wall and the diaphragm are involved. The purpose of the respiratory feedback system is to keep the output of the controlled system, i.e. the controlled variable, within a relatively narrow range around the desired value or set point under any conditions. When CO2 is fed into the gas exchanger in excess of its resting level, the first step to take place in the respiratory system is the measurement of the controlled variable, Pa~oz, by means of the central and/or peripheral chemoreceptors. The measured value is then compared with the desired Pa~oz, and the controller generates a signal proportional to the difference between the measured and desired values of Pa~oz (error signal),which causes ventilation to increase. As a result of hyperpnea, excess CO2 accumulated in the lung gas exchanger is excreted, and Pa~oz returns to its initial level. Feedback control of the respiratory system has been well established as valid when CO2 is inhaled via the airways. However, it is difficult to explain ventilatory responses to exercise by the feedback principle, since during exercise below the anaerobic threshold, appreciable changes are observed neither in arterial Pa~oz nor in pH. Obviously, error-free control operates when metabolic CO2 is assumed to be a disturbance. In view of this, as noted by DEFARES [18], respiratory control during exercise has long been regarded as "forbidden territory"