Breathing patterns and associated cardiovascular changes in intermittently breathing animals: (Partially) correcting a semantic quagmire

• Published in: Experimental physiology Vol. 109; no. 7; pp. 1051 - 1065
• Main Authors: Burggren, Warren, Fahlman, Andreas, Milsom, William
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-07-2024; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: apnoea; Arrhythmia; Bradycardia; breath‐holding; Cardiac arrhythmia; Diving; heart; lungs; Physiology; Respiration; Review; Reviews; Semantics; Tachycardia; ventilation; diving; ventilation; apnoea; lungs; tachycardia; bradycardia; breath-holding; heart
• ISSN: 0958-0670; 1469-445X; 1469-445X
• DOI: 10.1113/EP091784

Many animal species do not breathe in a continuous, rhythmic fashion, but rather display a variety of breathing patterns characterized by prolonged periods between breaths (inter‐breath intervals), during which the heart continues to beat. Examples of intermittent breathing abound across the animal kingdom, from crustaceans to cetaceans. With respect to human physiology, intermittent breathing—also termed ‘periodic’ or ‘episodic’ breathing—is associated with a variety of pathologies. Cardiovascular phenomena associated with intermittent breathing in diving species have been termed ‘diving bradycardia’, ‘submersion bradycardia’, ‘immersion bradycardia’, ‘ventilation tachycardia’, ‘respiratory sinus arrhythmia’ and so forth. An examination across the literature of terminology applied to these physiological phenomena indicates, unfortunately, no attempt at standardization. This might be viewed as an esoteric semantic problem except for the fact that many of the terms variously used by different authors carry with them implicit or explicit suggestions of underlying physiological mechanisms and even human‐associated pathologies. In this article, we review several phenomena associated with diving and intermittent breathing, indicate the semantic issues arising from the use of each term, and make recommendations for best practice when applying specific terms to particular cardiorespiratory patterns. Ultimately, we emphasize that the biology—not the semantics—is what is important, but also stress that confusion surrounding underlying mechanisms can be avoided by more careful attention to terms describing physiological changes during intermittent breathing and diving.
What is the topic of this review?
This review examines the rather confusing semantics that has been used to describe patterns in the field of cardiorespiratory physiology as it applies to intermittent breathing, particularly in diving species.
What advances does it highlight?
This review highlights the various cardiorespiratory phenomena associated with intermittent breathing and diving. It highlights the semantic issues associated with describing each and offers a rationale for standardizing terms based on underlying mechanisms to reduce confusion and advance the study of cardiorespiratory phenomena in both medical and comparative physiological investigations.