Neonatal stress and abnormal hypercapnic ventilatory response of adult male rats: The role of central chemodetection and pulmonary stretch receptors

Estrogens, age, and, neonatal stress: panic disorders and novel views on the contribution of non-medullary structures to respiratory control and CO2 responses

CO₂ is a fundamental component of living matter. This chemical signal requires close monitoring to ensure proper match between metabolic production and elimination by lung ventilation. Besides ventilatory adjustments, CO₂ can also trigger innate behavioral and physiological responses associated with fear and escape but the changes in brain CO₂/pH required to induce ventilatory adjustments are generally lower than those evoking fear and escape. However, for patients suffering from panic disorder (PD), the thresholds for CO₂-evoked hyperventilation, fear and escape are reduced and the magnitude of those reactions are excessive. To explain these clinical observations, Klein proposed the false suffocation alarm hypothesis which states that many spontaneous panics occur when the brain's suffocation monitor erroneously signals a lack of useful air, thereby maladaptively triggering an evolved suffocation alarm system. After 30 years of basic and clinical research, it is now well established that anomalies in respiratory control (including the CO₂ sensing system) are key to PD. Here, we explore how a stress-related affective disorder such as PD can disrupt respiratory control. We discuss rodent models of PD as the concepts emerging from this research has influenced our comprehension of the CO₂ chemosensitivity network, especially structure that are not located in the medulla, and how factors such as stress and biological sex modulate its functionality. Thus, elucidating why hormonal fluctuations can lead to excessive responsiveness to CO₂ offers a unique opportunity to gain insights into the neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating this key aspect of respiratory control and the pathophysiology of respiratory manifestations of PD.

Sex-Specific Effects of Stress on Respiratory Control: Plasticity, Adaptation, and Dysfunction

As our understanding of respiratory control evolves, we appreciate how the basic neurobiological principles of plasticity discovered in other systems shape the development and function of the respiratory control system. While breathing is a robust homeostatic function, there is growing evidence that stress disrupts respiratory control in ways that predispose to disease. Neonatal stress (in the form of maternal separation) affects "classical" respiratory control structures such as the peripheral O₂ sensors (carotid bodies) and the medulla (e.g., nucleus of the solitary tract). Furthermore, early life stress disrupts the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH), a structure that has emerged as a primary determinant of the intensity of the ventilatory response to hypoxia. Although underestimated, the PVH's influence on respiratory function is a logical extension of the hypothalamic control of metabolic demand and supply. In this article, we review the functional and anatomical links between the stress neuroendocrine axis and the medullary network regulating breathing. We then present the persistent and sex-specific effects of neonatal stress on respiratory control in adult rats. The similarities between the respiratory phenotype of stressed rats and clinical manifestations of respiratory control disorders such as sleep-disordered breathing and panic attacks are remarkable. These observations are in line with the scientific consensus that the origins of adult disease are often found among developmental and biological disruptions occurring during early life. These observations bring a different perspective on the structural hierarchy of respiratory homeostasis and point to new directions in our understanding of the etiology of respiratory control disorders. © 2021 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 11:1-38, 2021.

Co-existence of ethanol-related respiratory and motivational learning processes based on a tactile discrimination procedure in neonatal rats

In rats, high ethanol doses during early postnatal life exert deleterious effects upon brain development that impact diverse social and cognitive abilities. This stage in development partially overlaps with the third human gestational trimester, commonly referred to as the brain growth spurt period. At this stage in development, human fetuses and rat neonates (postnatal days [PD] 3-9) exhibit relatively high respiratory rates that are affected by subteratogenic ethanol doses. Recent studies suggest conditioned breathing responses in the developing organism, given that there are explicit associations between exteroceptive stimuli and the state of ethanol intoxication. Furthermore, studies performed with near-term rat fetuses suggest heightened sensitivity to ethanol's motivational effects. The present study was meant to analyze the unconditioned effects of ethanol intoxication and the possible co-occurrence of learning mechanisms that can impact respiratory plasticity, and to analyze the preference for cues that signal the state of intoxication as well as the effects of the drug, related with motor stimulation. Neonatal rats were subjected to differential experiences with salient tactile cues explicitly paired or not paired with the effects of vehicle or ethanol (2.0 g/kg). A tactile discrimination procedure applied during PDs 3, 5, 7, and 9 allowed the identification of the emergence of ethanol-derived non-associative and associative learning processes that affect breathing plasticity, particularly when considering apneic disruptions. Ethanol was found to partially inhibit the disruptions that appeared to be intimately related with stressful circumstances defined by the experimental procedure. Tactile cues paired with the drug's effects were also observed to exert an inhibitory effect upon these breathing disruptions. The level of contingency between a given tactile cue and ethanol intoxication also resulted in significant changes in the probability of seeking this cue in a tactile preference test. In addition, the state of intoxication exerted motor-stimulating effects. When contrasting the data obtained via the analysis of the different dependent variables, it appears that most ethanol-derived changes are modulated by positive and/or negative (anti-anxiety) reinforcing effects of the drug. As a whole, the study indicates co-existence of ethanol-related functional changes in the developing organism that simultaneously affect respiratory plasticity and preference patterns elicited by stimuli that signal ethanol's motivational effects. These results emphasize the need to consider significant alterations due to minimal ethanol experiences that argue against "safe" levels of exposure in a critical stage in brain development.

Impact of inflammation on developing respiratory control networks: rhythm generation, chemoreception and plasticity

The respiratory control network in the central nervous system undergoes critical developmental events early in life to ensure adequate breathing at birth. There are at least three "critical windows" in development of respiratory control networks: 1) in utero, 2) newborn (postnatal day 0-4 in rodents), and 3) neonatal (P10-13 in rodents, 2-4 months in humans). During these critical windows, developmental processes required for normal maturation of the respiratory control network occur, thereby increasing vulnerability of the network to insults, such as inflammation. Early life inflammation (induced by LPS, chronic intermittent hypoxia, sustained hypoxia, or neonatal maternal separation) acutely impairs respiratory rhythm generation, chemoreception and increases neonatal risk of mortality. These early life impairments are also greater in young males, suggesting sex-specific impairments in respiratory control. Further, neonatal inflammation has a lasting impact on respiratory control by impairing adult respiratory plasticity. This review focuses on how inflammation alters respiratory rhythm generation, chemoreception and plasticity during each of the three critical windows. We also highlight the need for additional mechanistic studies and increased investigation into how glia (such as microglia and astrocytes) play a role in impaired respiratory control after inflammation. Understanding how inflammation during critical windows of development disrupt respiratory control networks is essential for developing better treatments for vulnerable neonates and preventing adult ventilatory control disorders.

Reappraising Preclinical Models of Separation Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, and CO2 Sensitivity: Implications for Methodology and Translation into New Treatments

Separation anxiety applies to multiple forms of distress responses seen in mammals during postnatal development, including separation from a caregiver. Childhood separation anxiety disorder is an important risk factor for developing panic disorder in early adulthood, and both conditions display an increased sensitivity to elevated CO₂ concentrations inhaled from the air. By interfacing epidemiological, genetic, and physiological knowledge with preclinical animal research models, it is possible to decipher the mechanisms that are central to separation anxiety and panic disorders while also suggesting possible therapies. Preclinical research models allow for environmentally controlled studies of early interferences with parental care. These models have shown that different forms of early maternal separation in mice and rats induce elevated CO₂ respiratory sensitivity, an important biomarker of separation anxiety and panic disorders. In mice, this is likely due to gene-environment interactions that affect multiple behavioural and physical phenotypes after exposure to this early adversity. Although several questions regarding the causal mechanism of separation anxiety and panic disorder remain unanswered, the identification and improved understanding of biomarkers that link these mental health conditions under the guise of preclinical research models in conjunction with human longitudinal cohort studies can help resolve these issues.

Neonatal Maternal Separation Augments Carotid Body Response to Hypoxia in Adult Males but Not Female Rats

Perinatal exposure to adverse experiences disrupts brain development, including the brainstem network that regulates breathing. At adulthood, rats previously subjected to stress (in the form of neonatal maternal separation; NMS) display features reported in patients suffering from sleep disordered breathing, including an increased hypoxic ventilatory response and hypertension. This effect is also sex-specific (males only). Based on these observations, we hypothesized that NMS augments the carotid body's O2-chemosensitivity. Using an isolated and perfused ex vivo carotid body preparation from adult rats we compared carotid sinus nerve (CSN) responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia in carotid bodies harvested from adult rats that either experienced control conditions (no experimental manipulation) or were subjected to NMS (3 h/day from postnatal days 3 to 12). In males, the CSN response to hypoxia measured in preparations from NMS males was 1.5 fold higher than controls. In control rats, the female's response was similar to that of males; however, the increase in CSN activity measured in NMS females was 3.0 times lower than controls. The CSN response to hypercapnia was not influenced by stress or sex. We conclude that NMS is sufficient to have persistent and sex-specific effects on the carotid body's response to hypoxia. Because NMS also has sex-specific effects on the neuroendocrine response to stress, we propose that carotid body function is influenced by stress hormones. This, in turn, leads to a predisposition toward cardio-respiratory disorders.

Respiratory manifestations of panic disorder in animals and humans: a unique opportunity to understand how supramedullary structures regulate breathing

The control of breathing is commonly viewed as being a "brainstem affair". As the topic of this special issue of Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology indicates, we should consider broadening this notion since the act of breathing is also tightly linked to many functions other than close regulation of arterial blood gases. Accordingly, "non-brainstem" structures can exert a powerful influence on the core elements of the respiratory control network and as it is often the case, the importance of these structures is revealed when their dysfunction leads to disease. There is a clear link between respiration and anxiety and key theories of the psychopathology of anxiety (including panic disorders; PD) focus on respiratory control and related CO2 monitoring system. With that in mind, we briefly present the respiratory manifestations of panic disorder and discuss the role of the dorso-medial/perifornical hypothalamus, the amygdalar complex, and the periaqueductal gray in respiratory control. We then present recent advances in basic research indicating how adult rodent previously subjected to neonatal stress may provide a very good model to investigate the pathophysiology of PD.

Vulnerability of neonatal respiratory neural control to sustained hypoxia during a uniquely sensitive window of development

The first postnatal weeks represent a period of development in the rat during which the respiratory neural control system may be vulnerable to aberrant environmental stressors. In the present study, we investigated whether sustained hypoxia (SH; 11% O2) exposure starting at different postnatal ages differentially modifies the acute hypoxic (HVR) and hypercapnic ventilatory response (HCVR). Three different groups of rat pups were exposed to 5 days of SH, starting at either postnatal age 1 (SH1-5), 11 (SH11-15), or 21 (SH21-25) days. Whole body plethysmography was used to assess the HVR and HCVR the day after SH exposure ended. The primary results indicated that 1) the HVR and HCVR of SH11-15 rats were absent or attenuated (respectively) compared with age-matched rats raised in normoxia; 2) there was a profoundly high (∼84% of pups) incidence of unexplained mortality in the SH11-15 rats; and 3) these phenomena were unique to the SH11-15 group with no comparable effect of the SH exposure on the HVR, HCVR, or mortality in the younger (SH1-5) or older (SH21-25) rats. These results share several commonalities with the risk factors thought to underlie the etiology of sudden infant death syndrome, including 1) a vulnerable neonate; 2) a critical period of development; and 3) an environmental stressor.