The ins and outs of deep breathing: mechanisms of respiratory motor plasticity.

The author reflects on the effects of deep breathing on respiratory motor plasticity. He shares that long-term facilitation (LTF) motor plasticity in breathing is triggered by brief episodes of hypoxia akin to sleep-disordered breathing. He notes that retrograde signals occurring in the phrenic nerve affects LTF. He concludes that further analysis of LTF pathways will offer understanding of respiratory physiology and the basic mechanisms governing brain plasticity.